Epidemiologist, biostatistician, and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School Martin Kulldorff, MD announced on social media last week that Harvard fired him for opposing COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccine mandates. “I am no longer a professor of medicine at Harvard,” Dr. Kulldorff wrote in a published essay in the City Journal titled Harvard Tramples the Truth.
Kulforff also shared the news on his X account. “The Harvard motto is Veritas, which is Latin for truth. But, as I discovered, truth can get you fired,” he wrote.1 “This is my story—a story of a Harvard biostatistician and infectious disease epidemiologist, clinging to the truth as the world lost its way during the COVID pandemic,” the essay begins.
Kulldorff was terminated by the Harvard-affiliated Mass General Brigham hospital system and put on a leave of absence by Harvard Medical School back in November 2021 over his stance on COVID. Almost two years later, his leave of absence was terminated as a matter of policy in October 2023, officially ending his tenure at the university.
Michael Levitt, PhD, a Stanford University professor of biophysics, shared on X in response to the news:
Taking revenge on a brave scientist who spoke truth is a disgrace to academia. This level of institutional stupidity is an existential threat to the USA.2 3
Great Barrington Declaration Accurately Predicted Underprivileged Disproportionately Harmed by Lockdowns
The “Great Barrington Declaration,” written by Kulldorff along with epidemiologists Jay Bhattacharya, MD of Stanford and Sunetra Gupta of Oxford University, warned against lockdowns in real time. “Keeping these measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed” the declaration reads. “Children faced minuscule risk from COVID, and interrupting their education would disadvantage them for life, especially those whose families could not afford private schools, pod schools, or tutors, or to homeschool.”4
They weren’t wrong. Experts are still reeling from the growing body of evidence that proves lockdowns and other COVID measures caused irreparable developmental damage spanning multiple age groups. Among the findings, American students’ test scores have plunged to unseen levels with fourth and eighth graders losing two decades in math and reading, according to national assessments.5
Reflecting on the scathing criticism against him and other professors for refusing to say that lockdown measures were a science-based measure, Kulldorff said:
The declaration made clear that no scientific consensus existed for school closures and many other lockdown measures. In response, though, the attacks intensified—and even grew slanderous. Almost everyone now realizes that school closures and other lockdowns were a colossal mistake. Francis Collins has acknowledged his error of singularly focusing on COVID without considering collateral damage to education and non-COVID health outcomes. That’s the honest thing to do, and I hope this honesty will reach Harvard. The public deserves it, and academia needs it to restore its credibility.1
“Vaccine Mandates are Religious Dogma”
In Kulldorff’s published essay sharing his unjust termination from Harvard, he also explains that, like countless other Americans who tried to exercise their constitutional right to religious freedom during the rollout of the novel mRNA shot, his religious exemption was denied by the university. He said:
While several vaccine exemptions were given by the hospital, my medical exemption request was denied. I was less surprised that my religious exemption request was denied. Having had COVID disease, I have stronger longer lasting immunity than those vaccinated (Gazit et al). Lacking scientific rationale, vaccine mandates are religious dogma, and I request a religious exemption from COVID vaccination.1
What is Science if We Do Not Humbly Pursue the Truth
Kulldorff shared that while most of Harvard’s faculty still “diligently pursue truth in a wide variety of fields,” truth has “not been the guiding principle of Harvard leaders. “Nor have academic freedom, intellectual curiosity, independence from external forces, or concern for ordinary people guided their decisions,” he said. “At this point, it was clear that I faced a choice between science or my academic career. I chose the former.”
“What is science if we do not humbly pursue the truth?” Kulldorff asked.1
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Click here to view References:2 Zimmerman D. Former Harvard Medical Professor Claims He Was Fired for Opposing Covid Lockdowns, Vaccine Mandates. The National Review Mar. 18, 2024.
3 Levitt M (@MLevitt_NP2013), “This is quite impossible to comprehend. Has Harvard totally lost its senses? Taking revenge on a brave scientist who spoke truth is a disgrace to academia. It will have lasting harm on all I hold dear. This level of institutional stupidity is an existential threat to the USA.” X, Mar. 13, 2024.
4 Kulldorff M et al. Great Barrington Declaration. Mar. 18, 2024.
5 St. George D. American students’ test scores plunge to levels unseen for decades. The Washington Post Sept. 1, 2022.
5 Responses
“Good job Dr. Kulldorff”, you are the true Researcher, the kind to trust, and you will find a better place to resume your scientific research. Thank you, Barbara J. Lindemann, former L.Ac. , and employee at UCSD Med School, Departments of Research
I salute Dr. Kulldorff for his courage and honesty. Thank you for sharing and we readers would love to hear the rest of the story of people like him and what they do. I want to listen to honest, thoughtful scholars and practitioners.
Here is about one of biggest covid care centers of the world
1100 bed covid care center (temporarily built)
zero medicines (paracetamol, remdesivir or whatsoever)
zero charges
zero oxygen cylinders
started during covid second wave in India’
Treatment protocol being Yoga, plant based diet and sleeping in prone posture-n-blowing air with batter operated fan.
More details on the article:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cZu_OGx__nVJUn_yBqni7gjdDb2mwiNv/view?usp=sharing
Just keep fire the people that tell truth.
What a great university.
The article quoted this individual as saying; truth has “not been the guiding principle of Harvard leaders. “Nor have academic freedom, intellectual curiosity, independence from external forces, or concern for ordinary people guided their decisions,”
Thank you captain obvious. Then everyone is doing back flips singing praise at his bravery in the face of authoritarian intimidation and corrupted establishment process, aka institutionalized fascism. News flash people; The entire administrative body of these college institutions, including but not limited to professors, their staff, and the majority of their supporters, are all in on the insider track, and know how the game is played.
You understand these institutions are not accessible to regular working class families right? You understand that the funding for those medical research departments comes from the medical industrial complex, including the NIH? You understand that in order to even be employed or participate in those groups, one has to clearly signal and participate as a useful tool to whatever end they promote? That there has never been in our lifetimes any real independence or freedom of scientific researchers for independent study which may go against the donor class? Perhaps get to know how endowment funds work, and exactly how much of your tax payer money flows to these (and I use the term loosely) higher education institutes. They are among the most proficient beneficiaries of corporate welfare. For every extra dollar they charge students from elite social tiers, they rake two more from the tax payer. Not surprisingly the costs continue to climb. Acceptance is by invitation only. If you believed otherwise, you have not been living in the real world.
Mr Kulldorff has made not one iota of difference, unless he joins some not for profit group whom goes up against the medical industrial establishment, perhaps by some miracle actually finds a cure for something, in which case the cure will be shelved and his voice silenced before you or I could ever even learn about it. In which case he can kiss all of his credentials, his mansion, and his country club golf club membership good by. His efforts will however have a much greater probability of serving as an effective deterrent to the next uppity club member whom would go against the for profit model or dare to speak against their masters.