The Senate on Tuesday confirmed health researcher Jay Bhattacharya as the next leader of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)...👏👏

Bhattacharya was confirmed on a party- line vote, 53 to 47. 

Bhattacharya became a celebrity among many Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic for criticizing masking orders, school closures and other measures meant to mitigate the spread of the virus.   

Bhattacharya was one of the primary authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, a document signed by thousands of public health experts in late 2020 that pushed the argument of “herd immunity;” allowing the COVID virus to spread among lower-risk, younger people to build up immunity while having “focused protection” on older, high-risk people. 

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5213872-jay-bhattacharya-senate-confirmed-nih/amp/