NIH press releases or official announcements

Trump Nominates Great Barrington Co-Author Bhattacharya as NIH Director to Work with RFK Jr.

Nov 27, 2024, 01:44 AM

President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University health policy professor, as the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Trump stated, 'Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a gold standard of medical research.' Dr. Bhattacharya, who will work alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was a prominent critic of COVID-19 policies such as lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccine mandates. He co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, which opposed widespread lockdown measures during the pandemic, and has described the COVID-19 lockdowns as 'the biggest public health mistake.' The appointment signals a potential shift in NIH leadership towards a more critical examination of the relationship between the NIH and pharmaceutical companies.