Trump taps NRI Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, scientist, NIH, selected as the director of the country's top health research and funding institution.

Los Angeles/Nov 27, 2024
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/A.Gary Singh
President-elect Donald Trump has named NRI Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford health economist known for opposing pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates, as his nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Bhattacharya’s appointment aligns with Trump’s choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
In his announcement, Trump praised the duo, stating they would transform medical research and tackle critical health challenges, particularly chronic illnesses. “Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a gold standard of medical research, focusing on the root causes and solutions to America’s health crises,” Trump said.
Bhattacharya, a co-author of the 2020 Great Barrington Declaration, criticized lockdowns as harmful and proposed a strategy emphasizing "focused protection" for vulnerable populations while promoting herd immunity among lower-risk groups. While embraced by some Trump administration officials, the declaration faced sharp criticism from public health experts,
including then-NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins, who dismissed it as dangerous and unscientific.
Bhattacharya’s controversial stance on public health has extended to his opposition to vaccine mandates, which he argues eroded trust in health institutions. He has also been an outspoken critic of social media restrictions on conservative views. Bhattacharya was a plaintiff in a Supreme Court case alleging that federal agencies suppressed conservative perspectives online, though the Court ultimately sided with the Biden administration.
Trump also announced Jim O’Neill, a former HHS official, as his pick for deputy secretary of HHS. O’Neill will oversee operations, aiming to improve management and transparency within the agency.
The NIH, which Bhattacharya is slated to lead, is a cornerstone of the nation’s medical research, with a $48 billion budget funding advancements in cancer treatment, vaccine development, and opioid addiction therapies. Bhattacharya’s nomination requires Senate approval and is part of Trump’s broader effort to reshape federal health agencies with a focus on challenging the status quo.
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