“Trump has chosen a critic of quarantine due to Covid to head the main US health agencyDonald Trump has chosen Jay Bhattacharya, a well-known skeptic of quarantine measures, to be the director of the NIH. Bhattacharya is the author of the controversial Great Barrington Declaration, which proposed an alternative to the lockdown.”, — write on: unn.ua
Details
Trump said he had chosen the Stanford-educated physician and economist to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world’s largest government-funded biomedical research organization.
During the pandemic, Bhattacharya became the main author of the highly controversial open letter known as the Great Barrington Declaration. In the document, the doctor called for an alternative to isolation during Covid, recommending instead a focus on protecting vulnerable populations such as the elderly.
Earlier this month, Trump announced that he wanted former rival Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health. Kennedy’s skepticism about vaccines alarmed the nation’s medical community, although his calls for stricter regulation of food ingredients gained public support.
Trump proposes to appoint Robert Kennedy Jr. as the head of the Department of HealthNovember 14 2024, 22:22 • 13808 views
Addition
Bhattacharya is not the only Trump nominee to criticize the response of US health authorities to the pandemic. Trump also chose Marty Macari, a surgeon from Johns Hopkins University who opposed the approval of the Covid-19 vaccine, to head the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dave Weldon, a physician and former Republican congressman who has also expressed doubts about the safety of vaccines, has been selected to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Kennedy and O’Neill’s health department will oversee the agencies headed by Macari, Weldon and Bhattacharya, but all five must be confirmed by the Senate.
Last week, Trump also nominated TV host Dr. Mehmet Oz to be the administrator of the Centers for Drug and Health Care Services.