President-elect Donald Trump has appointed health economist Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, known for his opposition to pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates, to head the National Institutes of Health, the foremost medical research organization in the country.
In a statement released on Tuesday evening, Trump announced that Bhattacharya, a 56-year-old physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, will collaborate with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his selection for the Department of Health and Human Services, “to guide the Nation’s Medical Research and to facilitate significant discoveries that will enhance Health and save lives.”
“Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will elevate the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research as they investigate the root causes of and solutions to America’s most pressing Health issues, including the Crisis of Chronic Illness and Disease,” he stated. This appointment underscores the continuing influence of the COVID pandemic on public health politics.
Bhattacharya was one of the three authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, an open letter issued in October 2020 that argued lockdowns were inflicting lasting damage. The declaration, which was released prior to the availability of COVID-19 vaccines and during the first Trump administration, advocated for “herd immunity,” suggesting that individuals at low risk should continue their normal activities to build immunity to COVID-19 through natural infection, while protection efforts should be concentrated on those at higher risk.
https://profiles.stanford.edu/jay-bhattacharya
| Personal Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Jayanta Bhattacharya |
| Birth Year | 1968 (age 55–56) |
| Place of Birth | Kolkata, India |
| Education | Stanford University (BA, MA, MD, PhD) |
| Profession | Physician, Economist, Professor |
| Institutional Affiliation | Professor of Medicine at Stanford University |
| Known For | COVID-19 Views; Co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration |
| Research Areas | Health Economics, Public Health Policy, Economic Epidemiology |
| Notable Contributions | Criticism of COVID-19 lockdowns and support for focused protection strategies |
| Publications | Numerous articles on public health and policy in leading journals |
| Current Residence | United States |
Early Life and Education
- Born in Kolkata.
- Earned a medical degree from Stanford University in 1997.
- Completed a Ph.D. in Economics at Stanford in 2000.
Questioning COVID-19 Severity
- Co-authored an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal weeks after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
- Argued that shelter-in-place orders and universal quarantines imposed significant economic, social, and health costs, outweighing their benefits.
Antibody Study and Population Immunity
- Co-published a statistical analysis claiming population immunity to COVID-19 was significantly higher than initially believed.
- The study faced criticism from infectious disease experts over its methodology and conclusions.
Trump’s Reference to Bhattacharya’s Study
- President Trump cited Bhattacharya’s study to claim the administration’s “groundbreaking therapies” reduced fatality rates by 85%.
- Politifact rated this claim as only partially true, noting the role of increased testing in identifying more cases.
Criticism of Lockdowns
- Consistently criticized lockdown measures over the years.
- Called lockdowns “the single biggest public health mistake” during a 2021 gathering organized by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-taps-jay-bhattacharya-director-national-institutes-of-health
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