The physician and economist was the face of the Great Barrington Declaration, which opposed widespread lockdowns.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is a Stanford-educated physician who gained prominence after questioning the efficacy of social distancing at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic

President-elect Trump selected a critic of COVID-19 lockdowns and mandates to lead the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is known for co-authoring the Great Barrington Declaration, a 2020 manifesto that advocated allowing COVID to spread in order to achieve herd immunity.