Dr. Jay Bhattacharya: Lockdowns Fueled by Panic, Not Science; Trump's Nominee for NIH Director

"You do not use panic to control behaviour."

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, July 2021: The theory that 'we have to lock down, or else we're hurting people' has not been proven.

"Much of the broad support for lockdowns in the public comes out of a place of fear, and that fear was, unfortunately, an explicit government policy."

"That's a violation of a basic principle of public health, that you tell the public the truth, you don't panic them. You do not use panic to control behaviour. That is an ethical violation."

"It leads, in the long run, to undermining the trust that people have in public health."

Dr. Bhattacharya has just been nominated the next NIH director by Donald Trump.