Trump Appoints Jay Bhattacharya to Lead NIH

President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford health policy professor and critic of U.S. COVID-19 policies, as the new director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Bhattacharya, known for co-authoring the Great Barrington Declaration, advocated for a return to normalcy for non-vulnerable populations during the pandemic. His appointment aligns with Trump's broader strategy to reform federal health agencies, particularly in response to the previous administration's COVID-19 management. Alongside Bhattacharya, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, proposing significant staffing changes at NIH. Critics within the medical community have raised concerns about this direction, particularly regarding vaccine skepticism and the focus on chronic diseases over infectious diseases. The confirmations of these nominees by the Senate are awaited amidst ongoing debates on public health policy.