Kolkata-born Jay Bhattacharya enters Trump cabinet, was opposed to lockdown during Corona period

Washington: America’s newly elected President Donald Trump has chosen Indian-American scientist Jay Bhattacharya as the director of the National Institute of Health. NIH is one of the country’s top health research and funding institutions. With this, Bhattacharya is the first Indian-American to be nominated for the top administrative post in the Trump 2.0 cabinet.

Earlier, Trump had chosen Indian-American Vivek Ramaswami to lead the Department of Government Efficiency along with Tesla company owner Elon Musk. However, this is a voluntary post and does not require confirmation from the US Senate. That is, this department is not directly connected to Trump’s cabinet and it will work outside the government.

Announcing the name of the Indian-American for the top post in the cabinet, Trump said, “I am very happy to nominate Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD. as the director of NIH. Dr. Bhattacharya is the Robert F. Along with Kennedy Jr., he will guide the nation’s medical research and work towards improving health and encouraging important discoveries that can save lives.”

Who is Jay Bhattacharya?
Jay Bhattacharya was born in Kolkata, West Bengal. He moved to the US for higher education. He did his Bachelor of Arts and then Master of Arts at Stanford University in the 1990s. After this, he obtained a Doctor of Medicine degree and a PhD in Economics in the year 2000.

Trump said that Jay Bhattacharya is currently a professor of health policy at Stanford University and is working as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He is the director of the Center for Demographics and Economics related to Health and Aging at Stanford. Apart from health, his research is related to better care of vulnerable populations. His research has been published in journals ranging from economics, law to health policy.

Also told the option of lockdown during the Corona period
Bhattacharya also co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration during the Corona period. This was said to be an alternative to the lockdown imposed in Corona from October 2020. During this time, he also opposed the government’s Corona-related restrictions and mask policy. He argued in favor of letting it spread among the people and herd immunity to protect against Corona. However, he also had to face bans on social media platforms for his views.

Trump made two more appointments
Apart from Bhattacharya, the Republican leader announced two more important appointments. Among them, Jamieson Greer was selected as the US Trade Representative and Kevin A. Hassett was appointed as the Director of the National Economic Council in the White House. Trump said in a separate statement that Hassett, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council, played an important role in passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.