“The day after the shooting, Bhattacharya went on Steve Bannon’s podcast to criticize mRNA vaccines.”
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya portrayed himself as a neutral scientist in order to deflect legitimate criticism. However, in reality he was core member of an overtly political ecosystem that spread paranoia and rage about anyone who tried to stop people from dying of COVID. He histrionically warned of a “COVID cartel” and a “biomedical security state” on podcasts and propaganda movies. He proudly partnered with threatening anti-vaxxers, like Del Bigtree, who openly dreamt of Nuremberg trials. Anyone seeking examples of Dr. Bhattacharya stoking fear about the CDC and COVID vaccines will find an overwhelming amount of material.
He did so constantly for years, including as NIH director after a gunman, his brain rotted by anti-vaccine disinformation, shot nearly 500 rounds at the CDC, breaking 150 windows and killing a heroic young police officer. According to an article titled The CDC Shooting Was Public Health’s Jan. 6:
Kennedy’s appointees have gone even further. In 2022, the National Institutes of Health’s now-Director Jay Bhattacharya appeared on a panel that inaccurately claimed Covid-19 vaccines had killed 20 times as many people as they had saved. The day after the shooting, Bhattacharya went on Steve Bannon’s podcast to criticize mRNA vaccines. A few days later, he doubled down in a Washington Post op-ed.
“Things can move slowly in government.”
Fast forward to today and Dr. Bhattacharya is the acting CDC director where, under his “leadership”, the windows remain broken to this day. According to a recent article about his speech to staff there:
CDC staff harbor deep resentment of Kennedy’s response to the attack. The health secretary did not post about the shooting until the day after it occurred, and only after he posted pictures of himself fishing in Alaska.
Another staff member asked when windows with bullet holes from the attack would be replaced, saying months later they are still merely papered over. Bhattacharya said staff had his commitment that they would be replaced, but acknowledged things can move slowly in government.
So, let’s be clear about what happened here. Dr. Bhattacharya rose to power by portraying himself as a superman who “would have” perfectly controlled COVID had imaginary villains not stood in his way. Many “serious” thinkers believed his empty boasts and were genuinely impressed by his 1-page online petition which merely “argued for” his predecessors to do impossible things as COVID raged. They deliberately ignored Dr. Bhattacharya’s performance as a professional provocateur and claimed he would restore trust in public health if given power.
However, when given the opportunity to silence his critics and prove his real-world mettle, the only thing Dr. Bhattacharya can deliver is pathetic excuses- things can move slowly in government– about why he can’t be bothered fix a few broken windows.
Trust in MAHA leaders has justifiably collapsed, and the sycophants who previously glorified Dr. Bhattacharya have vanished, unwilling to even acknowledge what they helped unleash on us all. And while no one currently believes that Dr. Bhattacharya “would have” handled COVID with an iota of competence had he been in charge 6 years ago, his dismal performance in office has shown he was he was right about one thing at least:
