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In his first official decision as President-elect, Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Monday announced the formation of the COVID-19 Transition Advisory Committee that will “help shape” the new administration’s approach to managing the crisis. coronavirus pandemic.
The board will be chaired by the co-chairs, Dr. David Kessler, who served in the George HW Bush and Clinton administrations as commissioner of the FDA; Dr. Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general under the Obama administration; and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, associate professor of internal medicine, public health and management at Yale University. Also on the board: Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, architect of the Affordable Care Act and former special adviser on health policy under the Obama administration.
The move comes as the United States approaches 10 million total coronavirus cases with more than 237,000 related deaths amid what is described as the third wave of COVID-19, according to the University’s latest update. Johns Hopkins.
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Biden also announced Monday that Dr. Beth Cameron, who helped create a “pandemic manual” under the Obama administration, and Dr. Rebecca Katz, who served on the Biden coronavirus campaign advisory committee, will serve as COVID -19 transition advisors.
“Dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is one of the most important battles our administration will face, and I will be informed by science and by experts,” Biden said in a statement. “The advisory committee will help shape my approach to managing the outbreak of reported infections; ensure that vaccines are safe, effective and distributed efficiently, equitably and free of charge; and the protection of populations at risk. “
Board members have the experience “of engaging and leading our country’s response to national and global public health crises,” according to Biden’s transition team.
Biden has made ending the coronavirus pandemic a central message in his campaign, and voters favored the former vice president over President Trump on who is best able to handle the pandemic, according to Fox News voter analysis.
Other members include Dr Luciana Borio, who has held several senior positions at the FDA; Dr Rick Bright, who served as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and Assistant Under Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services under the Trump administration; Dr Atul Gawande; Dr Céline Gounder; Dr Julie Morita; Dr. Michael Osterholm, who served as State Department Health Safety Scientist and State Epidemiologist for Minnesota; Dr Loyce Pace, who has held leadership positions at the LIVESTRONG Foundation and the American Cancer Society; Dr Robert Rodriguez; and Dr Eric Goosby.
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The advisory board “will help guide the Biden-Harris transition in planning the president-elect’s robust federal response.”
Scientists and public health experts on the council will consult with national and local authorities to “determine the public health and economic measures necessary to bring the virus under control, to provide immediate assistance to working families, to address racial and ethnic disparities in courses, and to reopen our schools and businesses in a safe and efficient manner. “
The council is expected to come up with a seven-point plan to defeat COVID-19, including stepping up testing, securing personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chains with the Defense Production Act and the investment in vaccines.
President Trump earlier this year used the Defense Production Act to mobilize the private sector to provide medical supplies, largely masks, that healthcare professionals need to treat patients infected with the COVID-19. In April, the president also invoked the Defense Production Law, arguing that meat processing factories were part of the country’s critical infrastructure as fears grew that the food supply chain would be disrupted due to of the pandemic.
As for vaccines, one or more COVID-19 vaccines could be ready before the end of 2020, according to Trump administration officials, who said they were “cautiously optimistic” that they will be available, although only in “limited quantities”.
Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar went even further, estimating that there would be enough doses of the vaccine for all seniors, healthcare workers and first responders by the time. end of January, and for all Americans who wish by the end of March or the beginning of April.
“There is hope in the form of safe and effective vaccines in a matter of weeks or months,” Azar said.
The Trump administration is currently making six potential vaccines in a program called Operation Warp Speed. The plan is to be able to begin distributing vaccines when they have been cleared for use by the Food and Drug Administration.
Once available, the vaccines will first be distributed to those most at risk for the virus and essential health workers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s deputy director of infectious diseases, Dr Jay Butler. He said all jurisdictions have submitted their distribution plans to the CDC and the plans are currently under review.
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Meanwhile, Biden is expected to push to restore the Obama-era White House National Security Council leadership for health security and biodefense, while re-engaging with the World Health Organization.
Biden’s decision to re-engage with the World Health Organization comes after Trump submitted a withdrawal notice, which would not become effective until July 2021.
Trump, in April, announced that the United States would freeze funding for the WHO and threaten to make the freeze permanent if the organization did not pass “major substantive reforms.” The United States had been the agency’s largest contributor to the tune of about $ 450 million per year. China, on the other hand, pays around $ 50 million a year – although Beijing recently announced a $ 2 billion cash infusion.
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Trump has repeatedly raised concerns about praising WHO officials for Chinese “transparency,” his ignorance of warnings about the Taiwan virus and his repetition of Chinese claims that COVID-19 could not be spread from person to person. Trump also highlighted the opposition of WHO officials to his decision to ban travel to China in the early days of the crisis.
Biden is also expected to revive the US Agency for International Development’s pathogen tracking program called “PREDICT” and urge all governors to adopt mask mandates.
Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign was heavily focused on the novel coronavirus, as the United States battled the pandemic. President Trump’s brief hospitalization after contracting COVID-19, along with the fall outbreak of the coronavirus in key states across the country, kept the campaign in the spotlight firmly on an issue that did not favor the country’s re-election chances. President.
Jacqui Heinrich and Lucas Manfredi of Fox News contributed to this report.
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