Dr. Jay Bhattacharya was confirmed to become the next director of the National Institutes of Health, a development that comes years after he was targeted for censorship over his dissent from the mainstream response to COVID-19.
Bhattacharya was confirmed Tuesday by the Senate, with an unofficial tally captured by the White House Rapid Response account on X showing a 54-46 vote. The Hill reported a 53-47 party-line tally.
✅ CONFIRMED: Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as Director of the NIH. pic.twitter.com/DEBbpJQ0lU
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 25, 2025
The Hill noted that Bhattacharya, who works as a professor of economics and health research policy at Stanford University, was a primary author of the Great Barrington Declaration, which questioned institutionalized COVID policies like masking and social distancing.
The document contended that “herd immunity” should be allowed to take place among the lower-risk and younger portion of the population.
It also argued that protection should be focused on higher-risk and older people.
Former NIH Director Francis Collins, Bhattacharya’s predecessor in the senior public health position, had called for a “quick and devastating published take down” of the Great Barrington Declaration in an email dated Oct. 8, 2020.
He noted in the email, which was sent to Dr. Anthony Fauci and other senior federal health officials, that the proposal from “three fringe epidemiologists” was getting “a lot of attention.”
How it started: Disgraced NIH Director Francis Collins demands a “devastating takedown” of @DrJBhattacharya‘s Great Barrington Declaration that called for covid lockdowns to end.
How it’s going: Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is officially on his way to his old office. pic.twitter.com/UlcbGG6P4W
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 25, 2025
Bhattacharya emphasized to lawmakers during his confirmation hearing earlier this month that he would foster disagreement and debate in his job.
Does this seem like a form of divine justice for Bhattacharya?
“Dissent is the very essence of science,” he said, according to The Hill. “I will foster a culture where NIH leadership will actively encourage different perspectives and create an environment where scientists — including early career scientists — can express disagreement respectfully.”
Bhattacharya was also censored and shadow-banned by the previous management of Twitter after he joined the platform in 2021, as revealed by internal documents released in 2023 after Elon Musk bought the platform, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
His account had the label of “Trends Blacklist,” meaning his tweets could not rise to become trending topics on the platform, the report said.
The censorship occurred as Biden administration officials pressured social media companies to quell purported disinformation about COVID and the government response to the crisis.
Bhattacharya also expressed concern during his confirmation hearing that the NIH lost substantial institutional trust among the public for its COVID response.
He also committed to helping Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. address chronic illnesses and other health issues facing the country.
“If confirmed, I will carry out President Trump and Secretary Kennedy’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again and committing the NIH to address the dire chronic health needs of the country with gold-standard science and innovation,” Bhattacharya said, according to The Hill.
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