Trump appoints COVID policy critic Jay Bhattacharya to lead NIH

President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford professor and critic of U.S. COVID-19 policies, to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH is the main public funder of medical research in the U.S., with a budget of $47.3 billion. Bhattacharya co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, advocating for a return to normal life for non-vulnerable individuals during the pandemic. His appointment comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick for Health and Human Services, plans significant changes at the NIH, including potential job cuts. Kennedy has expressed intentions to shift the NIH's focus from infectious diseases to chronic diseases. This marks a notable change in direction for the agency, which has been heavily involved in COVID-19 research.