The Dr. Jay We Know: From Great Barrington to NIH (and Why That Matters More Than Ever)

Let’s be honest: if you’d told me in 2020 that the “fringe epidemiologist” who co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration would someday run the NIH, I might've told you to cut back on the ivermectin. But here we are. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya—our own Dr. Jay!—not just surviving the Fauci/Collins hit jobs, but thriving, and now guiding the world’s most powerful health agency through its greatest identity crisis to date.

I want to take a few minutes to not just rattle off Dr. Jay’s accomplishments (though believe me, we will), but to reflect on why his appointment is a seismic shift—and why, for all of us battered by years of zealous “Trust the Science™” messaging, it spells hope for sanity, humility, and actual science.

Our Journey with Dr. Jay: Speaking Truth When It Wasn't Popular

Relationships matter in this story. Our little Substack and community grew up in the shadow of COVID’s insanity, but we found inspiration from a handful of real-deal truth-tellers. For anyone just tuning in, Dr. Jay’s not some internet hero-of-the-week. He’s been there for our movement, supporting us both publicly and behind the scenes—replying to frantic emails, reviewing drafts, and reminding us (sometimes gently, sometimes not) that “the data must lead the headlines, not the other way around.”

Reminder: I have a strong suspicion that Dr. Jay helped restore HUNDREDS of Twitter accounts after Elong acquired the social network and let Jay have a look under the hood!

When Dr. Jay and his equally courageous colleagues Kulldorff and Gupta released the Great Barrington Declaration in October 2020, it was not just bold, it was humane. “Focused protection,” shocking as it sounds now, simply meant protecting the truly vulnerable while letting kids go to school and the rest of us avoid going mad from Zoom meetings. For this, he was hounded by bureaucrats, called “fringe,” and engaged in reputational cage matches with The Science™—but Jay never buckled.

He wasn’t trying to be a martyr or contrarian. He just happens to possess that rarest scientific quality: curiosity without arrogance. For those wondering what a real public health leader looks like, you've been witnessing a masterclass.

From Silencing to Vindication: Jay’s Odyssey

I honestly wish I could go back and tell my 2020 self (furiously arguing with relatives on Facebook): “Just wait. The guy they’re smearing and deplatforming? He’s going to run the whole show one day.” Because while Fauci was testifying that criticism of him “was criticism of science itself,” our Dr. Jay was—crazy idea—defending open debate, evolving his recommendations as evidence came in, and showing actual humility.

Let’s not sugarcoat it: the machinery of public health—government, media, tech—tried everything to crush dissent in the name of consensus. Yet through all the gaslighting, smears, and attempts at professional excommunication, Dr. Jay stayed upright (with a little prayer for his persecutors, even). Today, his vindication is not just symbolic—it’s reshaping science at the highest levels.

The Accidental NIH Director: Dr. Jay’s Reluctant Revolution

Let’s fast forward. After surviving the “devastating takedown” attempts (bless you, FOIA), Dr. Jay finds himself nominated to run the NIH by a President looking for a reset, and confirmed in a Senate that I imagine was half in denial, half furiously updating their LinkedIn profiles.

And what did Dr. Jay do in his first months at NIH? Not more of the same! If Collins’ NIH specialized in messaging and moral panic, Jay’s model is stubborn transparency, intellectual diversity, and actual risk-benefit thinking. Here’s what our “controversial” new director has gotten done (and yes, I’m just a little delighted to rattle these off):

1. Chronic Disease—Front and Center

Jay put the focus back where it belongs: the actual health crisis in America. Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity—these kill more than any microbe, but were long ignored. Jay’s NIH is pouring resources into root causes—ultra-processed foods, sedentary lifestyles, environmental exposures. “Making America Healthy Again” finally means looking beyond viruses and talking about prevention.

2. Radical Transparency (No, Really)

Imagine: taxpayer-funded research is, get this, accessible to taxpayers. Jay slashed embargoes, meaning when NIH research gets published, the public gets to read it immediately rather than waiting a year. Barriers down, accountability up. Even HHS's own dashboard is now part of NIH's “radical transparency” movement—no more hiding grant decisions or research setbacks.

3. No More SARS-CoV-Frankenstein: Cutting Gain-of-Function

Jay drew a hard line on supervirus experiments—if you’re juicing pathogens, you’re not getting a dime. He suspended all gain-of-function funding (domestic and foreign), demanded rapid reviews, and put public safety ahead of “science for fun and profit.” Old policies enabling risky research in sketchy labs are gone. NIH is defending your genetic data and cell samples, not exporting them to the highest overseas bidder.

4. Funding Real Science, Not Social Engineering

Jay’s NIH reviewed hundreds of grants to cut out ideological make-work—the DEI and “gender studies for gender’s sake” rackets. Cue lawsuits and media panic, but the real story is this: taxpayer dollars now chase real health impacts, not academic fashion statements. Science before activism.

5. Let Debate Reign: Science, Not Slogans

Dr. Jay’s “heretical” insistence on open scientific debate means even controversial issues—puberty blockers for minors, pandemic origins, vaccine safety analysis—are getting real, transparent reviews. NIH is hiring outside analysts, consulting diverse experts, and letting evidence, not PR flacks, guide headlines.

6. Health for the People—No More Ignoring Communities

When East Palestine, Ohio, was desperate for help after the train disaster, Dr. Jay made sure NIH stepped up with funding for a five-year, $10 million multidisciplinary health study, centered on citizen voices. It’s NIH putting science in service to actual Americans again—not just Beltway think tanks.

And that’s just a SAMPLE of what he’s done in his short tenure.

Jenny, Jay and Justin at the party they threw for Dr. Jay earlier this year.

Why It Matters—and Why Our Work Isn’t Done

Let’s be clear: this isn’t just a feel-good victory lap. Dr. Jay is facing down decades of inertia, entrenched interests, and a bureaucracy that still prefers messaging over admitting error. If anyone can fix the rot, it’s him—but reform is never easy, and he needs our ongoing support. We stuck by him when he was persona non grata. Now, as he’s finally able to reshape the machinery, we need to double down—calling out the attacks, spotlighting the successes, and demanding accountability from the system that opposed him for so long.

If you wondered what the opposite of “I am the science” looks like, you’ve got it: humility, transparency, dissent, and real problem solving. Jay is proof that you can take on Goliath and, with enough persistence, come out doing more than just surviving—you might just get to rewrite the rules.

The Road Ahead: Our Role

We got here together. And in this new reality—where common sense is making a comeback and courage has a seat at the table—our work is just beginning. Keep sharing the real story. Stay vocal, stay vigilant, and keep that sense of stubborn optimism that brought us through lockdowns, censorship, and “expert” gaslighting. Jay may be our lodestar at NIH, but grassroots pressure and public watchdogs (that’s you) are what will keep this moment alive.

Thank you, Dr. Jay—for your courage, your sacrifice, and for never giving up on the rest of us.

Here’s to more victories, more sanity, and—finally—making public health worthy of public trust again.

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If you want to keep following the Dr. Jay revolution (and help us make sure it sticks), stick around. We’ll keep rallying, fact-checking, and keeping public health honest—because even NIH reform needs a little help from its friends.