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President-elect Joe Biden has said the fight against the pandemic is “one of the most important battles our administration will face,” announcing a new 12-member COVID-19 transition advisory committee on Monday.
Why is this important: The United States has reported more than 100,000 new cases of coronavirus every day since last Wednesday, when it first reached the milestone. The seven-day average of virus deaths reported by states has increased 36% in the past three weeks, according to the COVID monitoring project.
The big pictureCOVID-19 is one of four key issues Biden pledged to address on day one of his administration. The others are economic recovery, racial equity and climate change.
- The working group will be chaired by three co-chairs: former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Dr Marcella Nunez-Smith of Yale University – such as Hans Nichols of Axios first reported it on Saturday.
- Beth Cameron, who served as senior director of global health security and biodefense in the Obama administration, and Rebecca Katz, co-director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University, are advisers for the transition on COVID-19 and will be working closely with the advisory board.
Enlarge: Biden said in an email that he wanted to be “informed by science and by experts,” and there is a wealth of experience on the advisory board, which includes:
Rick Bright, a vaccine expert, who resigned from a high-level post in the Department of Health and Human Services last month after alleging he was demoted for political reasons.
Eric Goosby, an infectious disease expert who previously served in the Obama and Clinton administrations.
Luciana Borio, whose previous positions include the Interim Chief Scientist of the Food and Drug Administration.
Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist and advisor to Biden, who is vice-provost for global initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and who previously served in the Obama administration.
Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Atul Gawande, a distinguished physician, health researcher and writer who served as a senior advisor to the Department of Health and Human Services in the Clinton administration.
Loyce Pace, Chairman and Executive Director of the Global Health Council.
Julie Morita, Executive Vice President of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Former Chicago Health Commissioner.
Celine Gounder, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at New York University.
Robert Rodriguez, professor of emergency medicine at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine;
What they say: “The advisory board will help shape my approach to managing the outbreak of reported infections; ensuring that vaccines are safe, effective, and distributed effectively, equitably and free of charge; and protecting populations at risk,” said Biden.
- The advisory board will help guide the Biden-Harris transition in planning the president-elect’s federal response.
- The advisers “will consult with national and local authorities to determine the public health and economic measures needed to bring the virus under control, to provide immediate assistance to working families, to address persistent racial and ethnic disparities and to reopen our schools and businesses safely and effectively, “Biden’s transition team said in a statement.
To note: Vice President Mike Pence was planned to meet again a Monday afternoon meeting with the White House Coronavirus Task Force, which has not met for weeks as he and President Trump campaigned for re-election.
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