NIH Chief Bhattacharya Clashes With CBS Over Covid Misinformation, Citing 1-Year CDC Shooting Fallout
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Aug 9
NIH Chief Bhattacharya Clashes With CBS Over Covid Misinformation, Citing 1-Year CDC Shooting Fallout
2 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Aug 9
Summary
CBS's Margaret Brennan pressed NIH head Jay Bhattacharya on Sunday over pandemic misinformation, prompting a sharp exchange over who drove the collapse in public trust on health issues.
Bhattacharya said the damage came from government actions—especially under Joe Biden—arguing officials censored him and that mask mandates themselves spread misinformation.
Brennan pushed back that Covid began under Donald Trump and noted HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had called the vaccine "the deadliest vaccine ever made," which she labeled misinformation.
The clash came as Brennan raised the 1-year anniversary of the fatal shooting at CDC headquarters in Atlanta, where the gunman's father said vaccine beliefs had left his son feeling suicidal.
It marked the second straight week that a Trump administration health official has publicly battled a TV host over Covid-era misinformation and how to handle future public-health crises.