Sheryl Gay Stolberg, the NYT health correspondent, feels her decades of health and political reporting prepare her well for understanding this remarkable moment in American history. Anger and alienation against the health sector and science are surging, drawing both on historical roots and current dynamics. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. nominated to be HHS Secretary, taps into a profound mistrust that he has indeed stoked, aided by the platform Covid gave him to mobilize “vaccine resisters.” RFK Jr’s nomination has several advantages, including his pivot to prevention, the root causes of chronic diseases, processed foods, and declining life expectancy. He has moved past the extremes (heroin addiction, sexual patterns, conspiracies) to claim redemption and resilience. He appeals to populist dissatisfaction with “regulatory capture” by big pharma and big food. 

Opposition can be loud. Mike Bloomberg has declared RFK Jr. “beyond dangerous, “medical malpractice on a mass scale.” Scott Gottlieb, AEI, has issued similarly scathing statements. Opposition can be muted. While there is “terror” among industry, public health, academic centers, opponents are cautious, out of fear of retaliation.

Jay Bhattacharya, Stanford, nominated to lead NIH, and others critics of the Biden administration feel they were marginalized during Covid and treated unfairly. “I think it is important that we engage with people on their ideas.”