Summary: <p><span>If the pandemic taught us anything, it showed how critical open debate in science and medicine needs to be. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, as one of the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, has been one of the most visible and vocal voices against lockdowns and how the world’s focus needed to be on protecting the vulnerable. He discusses why government needs to do to protect free debate in science and medicine. </span></p> <p><span>Bhattacharya, a physician and epidemiologist from Stanford University is now a fellow at the Hillsdale College Academy of Science and Freedom, an organization he co-founded with fellow Declaration author Martin Kuldorff, Ph.D., who recently retired from Harvard, and Dr. Scott Atlas, also of Stanford and former COVID–19 advisor in the White House under President Trump. Bhattacharya discusses herd immunity, why it was so ignored during COVID-19, the latest terrorism bulletin from the Department of Homeland Security on “mandate dissent,” the government’s claim that it is a possible triggerfor violence and unrest, and what needs to be done with the nation’s health agencies so they are more responsive to the public.</span></p>
