Where Are They Now · Profile 21
Peter Hotez
Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD (Baylor College of Medicine / Texas Children's Hospital).
Claims are labeled Documented, Allegation or Open question. An allegation or open question is not a finding of wrongdoing. Quotes from the film, its narration and third parties are their views, not findings of fact. No court or official body has found wrongdoing by Peter Hotez.
Peter Hotez is not a named defendant in Lee v. Northwell. No claim in that case is brought against him, he has denied the plaintiff’s account through Baylor College of Medicine, and no court has made any finding. Nothing on this page suggests he broke any law.
Who he was in the COVID era
- Co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and Dean of Baylor's National School of Tropical Medicine. His team co-developed the patent-free recombinant protein vaccine Corbevax, used in India. Documented Source: Baylor news (title); Texas Children's, Dec 28, 2021 and Hotez & Bottazzi, Scientific American (Corbevax)
- In the film (00:17:43–00:17:44): in a media montage the film uses about the Surgisphere study (later retracted), he is shown saying "The size of this study. It was a massive study." Documented (film clip, May 2020)
- His X posts Documented:
- Aug 31, 2020, thread 3/5 (post): "Rightfully, American people don't trust EUAs after FDA implemented and then revoked an EUA this year for hydroxychloroquine, and then the EUA for plasma Rx was poorly explained"
- Sep 2, 2020 (post): ""Health Freedom" = a fake ideology central to the American #antivax anti-science movement. It shares responsibility for >180,000 American deaths…"
The Rogan / RFK Jr. debate challenge (Jun 2023)
- Jun 16, 2023 (post): "No idea why @nypost taunts me here to debate RFK Jr? I've spoken with him several times since 2017. He offers zero evidence linking vaccines to autism + says untrue, hurtful things about me in his books/interviews. I'm not interested in helping him"
- Jun 17, 2023 (post): "Spotify Has Stopped Even Sort of Trying to Stem Joe Rogan's Vaccine Misinformation. It's really true @annamerlan just awful…"
- Third-party: Joe Rogan, Jun 17, 2023 (post): "Peter, if you claim what RFKjr is saying is "misinformation" I am offering you $100,000.00 to the charity of your choice if you're willing to debate him on my show with no time limit." (about 57M views). Others pledged more. Hotez declined. Documented (that the post exists)
- Jun 22, 2023 (post): "If Joe Rogan asks you to debate, be suspicious (Opinion)"
- Third-party opinion: Vinay Prasad, Jun 17, 2023 (post): "Honestly, Peter Hotez is not the person for the task. The man is a steady stream of incorrect COVID-19 policy, and naked partisan politics…" (Prasad’s opinion, not a finding of fact)
In the film: clips and timecodes
- 00:17:43–00:17:45 — "The size of this study. It was a massive study." (Hotez, per the film's on-screen caption at 00:17:44)
- Full timecodes are in the annotated transcript.
How COVID-era money shows up in the record
- This profile does not cover his funding or income.
Consequences
- None found. No discipline, sanction, charge or court finding against Hotez was found. Documented (absence as of Nov 2026)
Context: a lawsuit in which he is not a defendant
Peter Hotez is not a named defendant in Lee v. Northwell. Some online coverage has described him as “accused” in the case, so we note it here only to set the record straight. The plaintiff’s account is an unproven allegation; Hotez, through Baylor, and Northwell have both denied it. A motion to dismiss is pending, and the court has made no ruling or finding.
Sources: PacerMonitor docket (case and status); New York Post, Jun 6, 2026 (denials, as reported)
Where is he now
- Still at Baylor / Texas Children's CVD. His hookworm vaccine showed protection in a phase 2 human trial (2026). Documented Source: Baylor news
- The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society gave him its 2026 Walter T. Hughes Distinguished Physician Award (Oct 21, 2026). Documented Source: PIDS
Top sources
About this page: this is commentary and reporting based on public records, the film Epidemic of Fraud and public statements. Opinions are labeled as the film’s, the author’s or third parties’. If anything here is inaccurate, please send a correction to Press@EpidemicOfFraud.com and we will review it promptly.
Last reviewed November 2026 (research pass Nov. 2–3, 2026). This profile is updated as new records surface. Corrections: Press@EpidemicOfFraud.com