January 1, CDC Likely Gets New Leader With Critical Stance

Wyatt’s Take

• Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is set to lead the CDC temporarily.
• He has a history of criticizing pandemic lockdowns and CDC policies.
• The agency is seeing major changes under new federal leadership.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a professor and longtime CDC critic, will reportedly become the interim head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His appointment follows the removal of Jim O’Neill, who will now head the National Science Foundation.

Bhattacharya made national headlines during the pandemic for rejecting strict lockdowns. He, along with Dr. Sunetra Gupta and Dr. Martin Kulldorff, authored the “Great Barrington Declaration” in 2020 to oppose government policies that kept people apart and closed businesses.

The declaration warned of “damaging physical and mental health impacts” from lockdowns, instead calling for targeted protection of the most vulnerable.

Bhattacharya’s warnings proved true for many families. Kids lost out on months of school, and efforts to help them catch up still have not delivered results, according to a 2023 report from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. Social isolation and problems like alcohol use also surged during lockdowns.

The CDC has faced recent shakeups, cycling through multiple leaders in the last two years. The last agency head lasted less than a month before being replaced by O’Neill, whose vaccine policy changes caused more debate.

Big changes are coming, and the heartland will be watching to see if new leadership finally puts working Americans first. Stay tuned for more updates on how these changes affect your family and community.

Wyatt Matters

The struggles brought on by lockdowns hit everyday Americans the hardest. Leadership that puts real-world impacts before politics is what folks in Middle America are hoping to see now.

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