The Senate confirmed Jay Bhattacharya MD, Ph.D. to be the next director of the National Institutes of Health on Wednesday our time on a 53-47 party-line vote. Jay Bhattacharya wants to revamp the nation’s premier research institution, shifting its focus to chronic disease and ensuring free speech in differing scientific views.

“Dissent is the very essence of science. I will foster a culture where NIH leadership will actively encourage different perspectives and create an environment where scientists – including early career scientists – can express disagreement respectfully,” he says.

During Covidiocy, Jay Bhattacharya clashed with the mainstream medical establishment, including the NIH, over lockdowns and other measures designed to control the spread of the virus. He says he was shunned and penalized for his views and he didn’t want anyone else to suffer the same fate. He was thus an equivalent of Dr Sam Baily in Jacindaland, but unlike her has now been victorious in his battle with the establishment.