Meet Ron DeSantis’ favorite COVID “expert.”
- Not a PhD epidemiologist
- As MD has never treated a COVID patient
- Called for mass infection as path to herd immunity with zero modeling
- Resents that mainstream public health didn’t take him seriously
whowhatwhy.org/politics/the-l…
- Not a PhD epidemiologist
- As MD has never treated a COVID patient
- Called for mass infection as path to herd immunity with zero modeling
- Resents that mainstream public health didn’t take him seriously
whowhatwhy.org/politics/the-l…
The Stanford professor is a health economist who has been involved with the Hoover Institution for years.
Hoover is a billionaire-backed right-wing think tank housed at the school.
Dude doesn’t answer questions about his relationship with Hoover.
Hoover is a billionaire-backed right-wing think tank housed at the school.
Dude doesn’t answer questions about his relationship with Hoover.
The greatest hits include advising Trump, making the “economic case” against Medicare for all and suggesting vaccinating Indians would be inappropriate because the country had herd immunity…weeks before its worse surge. 
Bhattacharya has served as an expert witness in court cases for GOP states. A couple of judges have determined that his testimony is unreliable given his habit of speaking on issues he has no expertise in—like child development.
Key to DeSantis’ campaign strategy is rewriting the pandemic history to create an unreality—where the Trump administration was listening to Fauci instead Scott Atlas; where mass infection didn’t leave more than a million Americans dead and millions more disabled.
If DeSantis wins, right-wing scientists like Bhattacharya, who long ago surrendered academic credibility for politics and clout, could end up in high positions at the CDC or NIH.
It’s important to note that the Biden administration’s rush to put the pandemic in the rear view—its unwillingness to even message about risk despite vaccines—has created an opening for men like DeSantis and his experts.
The general unwillingness of academia to stand against right-wing propaganda is also a massive problem. Schools have been cowed by bad faith demands for “academic freedom,” which really just means the treating bad science (in the case of the GBD, no science) as differing opinion.
The fact is, the greatest harms of this pandemic come from the virus.
Not the weeks-long “lockdowns.”
Not school closures.
Certainly not the vaccines, which have saved millions of lives.
The virus, which has killed more than a million Americans and left more with long COVID.
Not the weeks-long “lockdowns.”
Not school closures.
Certainly not the vaccines, which have saved millions of lives.
The virus, which has killed more than a million Americans and left more with long COVID.
Bhattacharya really has built a cultish following made up of anti-vaxxers and people who think COVID was a deep state conspiracy.
It’s one he seems to have deliberately cultivated. And it’s key to DeSantis’ electoral strategy to outflank Trump.
“The Science (tm)”
“Covidian”
It’s one he seems to have deliberately cultivated. And it’s key to DeSantis’ electoral strategy to outflank Trump.
“The Science (tm)”
“Covidian”
When the pandemic hit, right-wing billionaires like those who fund the Hoover Institution recognized the threats it presented to their political project—labor got new leverage and there was a need for govt action.
That’s why their operatives began promoting COVID misinformation.
That’s why their operatives began promoting COVID misinformation.
We see this pattern consistently on the right. No regard for the damage so long as the tactic can deliver a win.
What’s a million+ dead and millions impacted next to the risk of higher taxes and increased regulation on business?
It’s really sick.
What’s a million+ dead and millions impacted next to the risk of higher taxes and increased regulation on business?
It’s really sick.
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