In his first official move as president-elect, Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Monday announced the formation of the Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board which will “help shape” the incoming administration’s approach to managing the coronavirus pandemic, Fox News informed.
The board will be led by co-chairs Dr. David Kessler, who served in both the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations as FDA commissioner; Dr. Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general under the Obama administration; and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, an associate professor of internal medicine, public health and management at Yale University. Also on the board: Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, an architect of the Affordable Care Act and former special adviser for health policy during the Obama administration.
The move comes as the U.S. neared 10 million total coronavirus cases with more than 237,000 related deaths amid what’s being described as the third COVID-19 wave, according to the latest update by Johns Hopkins University.
Biden on Monday also announced that Dr. Beth Cameron, who helped create a “pandemic playbook” under the Obama administration, and Dr. Rebecca Katz, who served on the Biden campaign’s advisory committee on coronavirus, will serve as advisors to the Transition on COVID-19.
“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 board will help shape my approach to managing the surge in reported infections; ensuring vaccines are safe, effective, and distributed efficiently, equitably, and free; and protecting at-risk populations.”
Members of the board have experience “engaging with and leading our country’s response to nationwide and worldwide public health crises,” according to the Biden Transition Team.
Biden made ending the coronavirus pandemic a central message in his campaign, and voters favored the former vice president over President Trump on the question of who is better able to handle the pandemic, according to the Fox News Voter Analysis.
Other members include Dr. Luciana Borio, who served in several senior leadership positions at the FDA; Dr. Rick Bright, who served as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and as the deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services under the Trump administration; Dr. Atul Gawande; Dr. Celine Gounder; Dr. Julie Morita; Dr. Michael Osterholm who served as a Science Envoy for Health Security on behalf of the State Department, and as a state epidemiologist for Minnesota; Dr. Loyce Pace, who served in leadership positions at LIVESTRONG Foundation and the American Cancer Society; Dr Robert Rodriguez; and Dr. Eric Goosby.
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