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President-elect Donald Trump has announced his intention to nominate Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University professor and vocal critic of Covid lockdowns, as the new director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Trump revealed the nomination on Tuesday, emphasizing Bhattacharya's commitment to working alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in advancing national medical research and achieving significant health improvements.

Dr. Bhattacharya expressed his gratitude and sense of responsibility in a social media post following Trump's announcement. He highlighted the necessity of reforming American scientific institutions to restore public trust and utilize scientific advancements to enhance the nation's health.

In addition to Bhattacharya's nomination, Trump disclosed plans to appoint Jim O'Neill, known for his criticism of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as the deputy secretary of Health and Human Services under Kennedy. O'Neill brings previous experience from various roles in the HHS during the Bush administration.

Dr. Bhattacharya gained widespread attention in October 2020 through his co-authorship of the "Great Barrington Declaration." This open letter, also signed by Martin Kulldorff of Harvard and Sunetra Gupta of Oxford, urged public health officials to end Covid lockdowns, arguing that they caused severe adverse effects on both short-term and long-term public health. The declaration proposed an approach focused on "herd immunity," advocating for less restrictive measures for those at minimal risk while increasing protections for high-risk individuals.

The "Great Barrington Declaration" attracted significant controversy. Many experts, including 80 researchers from public health and epidemiology fields, criticized the idea. They published a letter in The Lancet, describing the concept as a "dangerous fallacy." Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, reinforced this criticism, labeling the proposal as unethical and stressing that herd immunity should not be used as a primary strategy to combat a viral outbreak.

Throughout the pandemic, Dr. Bhattacharya remained a vocal critic of the NIH's leadership and Dr. Anthony Fauci's management of the U.S. Covid response, challenging the strategies and policies employed by these key health institutions.