US President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Stanford-trained physician and economist Jay Bhattacharya, a vocal critic of Covid lockdowns, to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Bhattacharya, co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration advocated against widespread lockdowns during the pandemic, calling for targeted protection of vulnerable groups instead.
His nomination signals a shift in the approach to public health under Trump, who has already announced a roster of appointees critical of conventional pandemic policies, including vaccine mandates. Bhattacharya expressed his gratitude for the nomination, vowing to reform American scientific institutions to regain public trust and address chronic health issues.
“The covid era was the golden age of science denial. Closed schools, immunity denial, lockdowns, toddler masking, vaccine mandates, vax harm denial, and of course censorship to suppress opposition to a failed ‘expert’ class. The Science ™ must be replaced by science,” he tweeted recently.
The covid era was the golden age of science denial. Closed schools, immunity denial, lockdowns, toddler masking, vaccine mandates, vax harm denial, and of course censorship to suppress opposition to a failed ‘expert’ class. The Science ™ must be replaced by science.
— Jay Bhattacharya (@DrJBhattacharya) November 15, 2024
“A relatively small group — a cartel almost — of very powerful scientific bureaucrats took over the whole apparatus of science, dominated the media, dominated the message to politicians.”
Trump’s health team also includes Robert Kennedy Jr. as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services, along with Marty Makary to lead the FDA and Dave Weldon to oversee the CDC.
Bhattacharya’s leadership at the NIH will require Senate confirmation, as will the other key nominees, marking a significant moment for the direction of US health policy under the incoming administration.
Trump’s new NIH Director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya: “A relatively small group — a cartel almost — of very powerful scientific bureaucrats took over the whole apparatus of science, dominated the media, dominated the message to politicians.”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 27, 2024
