Trump Taps Pandemic Lockdown Critic Jay Bhattacharya To Overhaul NIH

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford physician and economist known for his critiques of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates, to serve as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Bhattacharya gained prominence as a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, a controversial 2020 manifesto that opposed widespread lockdowns, advocating instead for "focused protection" of vulnerable populations while allowing the virus to spread among lower-risk groups to achieve herd immunity.

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The declaration, widely criticized by mainstream scientists and public health officials, framed Bhattacharya as a divisive figure in public health debates.

If confirmed by the Senate, Bhattacharya will oversee the NIH's $48 billion budget and 27 institutes, which fund critical research on diseases like cancer and diabetes, the New York Times writes. He has called for significant reforms to the NIH, arguing that the agency suffers from "groupthink" and overreach by entrenched civil servants, an NPR report adds.

"Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research as they examine the underlying causes of, and solutions to, America's biggest health challenges, including our Crisis of Chronic Illness and Disease," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

However, critics worry his leadership could undermine public trust in science, given his past positions on COVID-19 policies. Dr. Francis Collins, former NIH director, previously dismissed Bhattacharya's views as "fringe." However, he has acknowledged that pandemic strategies may have over-prioritized public health goals at the expense of economic and social considerations.

Bhattacharya's partnership with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has further fueled concerns. Kennedy's history of promoting unscientific theories about vaccines and other health measures raises questions about how NIH research priorities might shift under their leadership.

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