Biden’s transition team announces coronavirus advisers, including whistleblower Rick Bright

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The inclusion of Bright, who said he was greeted with skepticism by Trump administration officials when he raised concerns early in the pandemic over critical supply shortages, is a clear signal from the contrasting leadership that Biden intends to take over his administration when it comes to dealing with the pandemic.
Revealing the members of the pandemic task force is the first major announcement of the transition, underscoring the importance for the president-elect to tackle the deadly virus that has claimed more than 230,000 lives in the United States. The announcement also comes as the country nears 10 million cases, with more than 9.9 million cases reported as of Sunday evening, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The task force is chaired by former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler, and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith of Yale University. Among the other thirteen members are Dr Luciana Borio, senior researcher for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations and Dr Zeke Emanuel, one of the architects of the Affordable Care Act and former Obama health adviser.

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will receive a briefing from the Transitional Coronavirus Advisory Board Monday afternoon, through a Sunday evening statement from the transition team. Biden will then deliver remarks on his plans to fight the virus and rebuild the US economy.

The transition team shared Biden’s Covid plan, which was previously on his campaign website, on his website which was recently revealed on Sunday.

Since the start of the pandemic, Biden has repeatedly promised during the election campaign that he would listen to the advice of scientists and public health experts on the pandemic if elected president and criticize the president’s handling of the virus. Donald Trump. In his first remarks as President-elect, he said he believed the mandate given to the American people includes the coming together “of the forces of science and the forces of hope in the great battles of our time.” The first such battle cited by Biden was to control the virus.

It is reminiscent of the attention Biden and former President Barack Obama devoted to the economy when they won the White House 12 years ago amid a deep economic crisis. That’s the mindset Biden is taking towards the coronavirus, aides say, in hopes of trying to prevent the pandemic from getting worse before they take office on Jan.20.

The coronavirus upended the presidential election and provided a clear division in the race, with Biden pledging to take the pandemic seriously, while Trump downplayed the virus and often complained that he was focusing too much on the election campaign – even after contracting it himself.

CNN’s Dan Merica and Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report.

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