**Trump Nominates Dr. Jay Bhattacharya for NIH Leadership Amid Controversial Past on COVID-19 Policies**

US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a vocal critic of COVID-19 lockdowns, to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This move places Bhattacharya, who is known for his opposition to the Biden administration’s pandemic measures, in charge of the primary public health research agency in the United States.

Dr. Bhattacharya, a distinguished physician and professor of health policy at Stanford University, previously co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration in October 2020, advocating against widespread lockdowns. The declaration argued that lockdowns caused significant damage to physical and mental health and proposed “Focused Protection” for the most vulnerable populations. Despite initial backlash, some critics have begun to reconsider their views as the pandemic’s long-term impacts become clearer.

Bhattacharya's nomination has stirred debate, as his previous stance on lockdowns conflicted with mainstream public health policies during the pandemic. Former NIH director Dr. Francis Collins, who initially labeled Bhattacharya and his colleagues as "fringe epidemiologists," admitted in December 2023 that the narrow focus on saving lives during the pandemic overlooked the broader consequences of lockdown measures.

Beyond his academic and policy work, Bhattacharya's involvement in legal and social media battles has also drawn attention. An independent journalist, Bari Weiss, revealed in 2022 that Bhattacharya's social media account had been "secretly" blacklisted by Twitter (now known as X) before Elon Musk's acquisition of the platform. Musk later invited Bhattacharya to discuss how his views had been suppressed. Additionally, Bhattacharya was a plaintiff in a Supreme Court case addressing the suppression of conservative views on social media, although the court ultimately sided with the Biden administration.

Dr. Bhattacharya's nomination requires Senate approval and will see him potentially working alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom Trump has nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Both Bhattacharya and Kennedy have faced scrutiny for their controversial opinions on vaccines and COVID-19 policies during the pandemic.

As the NIH, which has a nearly $48 billion annual budget and employs around 18,000 people, transitions to new leadership, Trump's nominations signal a potential shift in the US's public health policy direction. The NIH oversees 27 research institutes, each focusing on different areas of medical and public health research, and plays a critical role in shaping healthcare strategies and research priorities. Both Trump and Kennedy have expressed confidence in Bhattacharya's ability to guide the NIH back to what they described as a "Gold Standard of Medical Research."

The Great Barrington Declaration continues to provoke discussion, with 43 additional medical practitioners and health scientists from countries including the US, UK, Sweden, and Canada signing in support of its propositions since its initial release. However, contrasting views like the John Snow Memorandum, supported by 80 medical experts, criticized the declaration for potentially endangering people with underlying conditions.

Bhattacharya's appointment could lead to significant changes in the NIH's approach to public health research and policy, with implications for how the US handles future health crises.