Ashish Jha

Navigating a pandemic is kind of like finding your way through a labyrinth—except that the fellow travelers attempting to reach the same destination may have very different ideas on which turn to take. In the effort to contain an outbreak of COVID’s scope, there’s a delicate balance between messaging, compassion, and sober analysis. And Ashish Jha has become a downright Ariadne of this maze.

A respected physician and public health scholar, Jha is a familiar face on cable news channels seeking insight on all matters COVID. That’s for good reason. Jha has a way, both in his public commentary and social media presence, of breaking down complicated public health issues in accessible language. His lack of a government affiliation has also helped him appear more trustworthy to skeptically inclined viewers. His Twitter threads expertly blend data, charts, and human impact. Concluding one recent discussion of herd immunity, he wrote: “But this is all manageable. We’ll settle into a new equilibrium as we do with many viruses. And COVID won’t dominate our lives. And that’s what matters.’” Jha’s unrelenting effort to share hard facts, easy-to-understand analysis, and a healthy sprinkling of empathy without judgment is a standard worth aspiring to.