Where Are They Now · Profile 07

Ashish Jha

Ashish Jha
Still from Epidemic of Fraud (01:43:18)

Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (Ashish Kumar Jha).

Claims are labeled Documented, Allegation or Open question. An allegation or open question is not a finding of wrongdoing. The film's framing of Jha as an "expert" who hadn't treated COVID patients is the film's and Broken Truth's characterization. His answer "I have not, sir" is on the record.

Who he was in the COVID era

  • 2020: Faculty director of the Harvard Global Health Institute. Named dean of Brown University School of Public Health in Feb 2020; started Sep 2020. Documented Source: Brown University, Dec 4, 2025
  • Nov 19, 2020: Testified at Sen. Ron Johnson's Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on early outpatient COVID treatment, as the lone witness against hydroxychloroquine. Asked if he had treated any COVID patients, he said: "I have not, sir." (film 01:46:00) Documented (film clip + hearing video) Source: PBS NewsHour hearing video
  • His own X posts around the hearing Documented:
    • Nov 19, 2020 (post): "…Chairman @RonJohnsonWI wants to discuss Hydroxychloroquine as outpt therapy for COVID / Other witnesses are all big Hydroxy fans so I'll be a bit lonely"
    • Nov 20, 2020 UTC, the evening of Nov 19 ET (post), thread opener with about 20.6k likes: "Today was a very, very odd day / I testified before @senatehomeland / They held a hearing on hydroxychloroquine. / Yup, HCQ / In the middle of the worst surge of pandemic…"
    • Nov 24, 2020 (post): "Not my title but yes, my op-ed / In @nytopinion / How did a misinformation campaign for Hydroxychloroquine land in Congress?… Science, Snake-Oil Salesmen, and the Senate". The NYT headline is the one Sen. Johnson reads out in the film (01:46:08–01:46:44).
    • Nov 29, 2020 (post): "I've had this Hydroxychloroquine joke since March but I can't seem to get it to work"
    • Dec 7, 2020 (post): "…@RonJohnsonWI holding part II hearings on Hydroxychloroquine / Prominent Anti-vax & pro-hydroxychloroquine doctors (yes, they exist) will be there"
  • In the film, Sen. Johnson says Jha "began tweeting his negative viewpoint of early treatment before the hearing even began." The Nov 19 "I'll be a bit lonely" post above is consistent with that. Documented (that he posted before the hearing. The characterization is Johnson's.)
  • Apr 2022–Jun 2023: White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator under President Biden, on leave from Brown. Documented Sources: Brown, Dec 4, 2025; BioRadar team page

Notorious moments and X posts

  • Booster flip, Jul 9, 2021. Both posts were made the same night Documented:
    • Post 1: "Pfizer says we may need a booster / Call me skeptical…"
    • Post 2: "Breaking news: CDC and FDA jointly announce that fully vaccinated people DO NOT need a booster. / Carry on with your vaccinated lives"
    • By Nov 28, 2021 (post) he was urging "This is a good time to go get a booster."
  • Kids' vaccination, Mar 7, 2022 (post) Documented: "Kids are better off vaccinated / That's why my three kids all got vaxxed / Ignore the noise"
  • Bivalent booster claims, fall 2022. As coordinator, he was criticized for claims that went beyond the human data then available. He also promoted an unadjusted CDC figure of about 96% lower mortality risk, which critics said was confounded. Documented (that the criticism was made: trade press plus a critic's newsletter) Sources: Pink Sheet/Citeline, "Overhyped?"; Vinay Prasad newsletter (critic)
  • The film's segment is titled "Ashish Jha: Have you treated any patients?" [film chapter title]

In the film: clips and timecodes

  • 01:43:16–01:43:46 — "My problem here is not so much that we have a different reading of the literature… this idea that there is this broad conspiracy… Doctors and academics are way too disorganized to pull off such a thing." (Senate HSGAC hearing, Nov 19, 2020)
  • 01:44:42–01:44:52 — "…the scientific consensus is very clear that hydroxychloroquine is not effective." (Same hearing)
  • 01:45:18 — Fareed: "Jha actually treats patients actually the way he talks." (Another witness, not Jha)
  • 01:45:21–01:45:54 — Off-label caution, "do no harm" (Jha)
  • 01:46:00 — "I have not, sir." (Jha answering Sen. Johnson)
  • 01:46:08–01:46:44 — Sen. Johnson: Jha "began tweeting… before the hearing even began"; NYT op-ed "The Snake Oil Salesman of the Senate"; "Have you treated any COVID patients?" (Johnson's words; headline wording as captioned in the film)
  • Full timecodes are in the annotated transcript.

How COVID-era money shows up in the record

  • No PPP loan, grant or industry payment to Jha personally was found in the records reviewed.
  • BioRadar (2025–): a private biointelligence company he co-founded and runs as CEO. Its funding and any government contracts are unknown. Documented (role)

Consequences

  • None found. There is no discipline, lawsuit or formal finding against him. Documented (absence as of Nov 2, 2026 ET)
  • Johnson's "snake oil" exchange and the "I have not, sir" answer remain the film's centerpiece about him. Documented (clip)

Where is he now

  • Left Brown on Dec 31, 2025, "to lead an initiative that aims to bolster the nation's defenses against emerging pandemic and biological threats." Documented Source: Brown University, Dec 4, 2025
  • Co-founder and CEO of BioRadar (Jan 2026–present), which calls itself "the nation's first continuously operating, AI-enabled biological intelligence service." Documented Sources: BioRadar team; drashishjha.com
  • Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center (appointed Feb 5, 2026). Documented Source: Belfer Center, Feb 6, 2026

Top sources

Last reviewed November 2026 (research pass Nov. 2–3, 2026). This profile is updated as new records surface. Corrections: Press@EpidemicOfFraud.com

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