Pre-COVID USDA Bat Vaccine Spray Plan, Linked to DEFUSE, Raises Alarms Over Human Exposure

Newly surfaced documents reveal that months before the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) authorized plans in July 2019 to field-test an experimental, unlicensed bat vaccine using a raccoon-poxvirus vector that could be delivered 'by spraying,' explicitly anticipating 'human exposure.' This controversial plan has now been directly linked to the DEFUSE Project, a research proposal that aimed to develop bat vaccines and immune modulators with broad implications for biosecurity. The 2019 USDA initiative, which involved applying a vaccine-laden glycerin jelly to bat habitats, aligns eerily with aspects of the DEFUSE Project, a 2018 proposal to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that explored 'wide-scale inoculation' of animals and humans using advanced aerosol technology. While DARPA ultimately rejected DEFUSE due to 'gain-of-function' and 'dual use' concerns, the connection to the pre-pandemic USDA spraying authorization intensifies scrutiny on the origins of the COVID-19 virus and the nature of high-risk biological research. The DEFUSE proposal itself described plans for engineering chimeric SARS-related coronaviruses and self-spreading vaccine for aerosol delivery via drones, with stated applications for 'large area inoculation of animals/humans.' These revelations are fueling renewed calls for transparency and accountability in biodefense and pandemic preparedness research. Investigative journalists are continuing to trace the funding and collaborations between various agencies and research entities, including the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), which developed aerosol technology, and EcoHealth Alliance, known for its work with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. As the public grapples with the implications of such pre-pandemic experiments, the debate around the ethical boundaries of viral research and the potential for unintended consequences is set to intensify.