On Monday, President-elect Joe Biden announced a new COVID-19 advisory task force to work towards controlling the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in the United States.
Biden’s transition team revealed the 13-member task force will be co-chaired by former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Marcella Nunez-Smith, a public health expert at the Yale School of Medicine. Other members are: Dr. Zeke Emanuel, Dr. Luciana Borio, Dr. Rick Bright, Dr. Atul Gawande, Dr. Celine Gounder, Dr. Julie Morita, Dr. Michael Osterholm, Dr. Robert Rodriguez, Dr. Eric Goosby and global health expert Loyce Pace. Twelve of the advisory team members are medical doctors, which follows through on promises Biden made to use a “science-based” approach to taming the coronavirus. “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.
During a televised briefing, Biden urged Americans to put aside their political differences and put the health of others first by wearing face masks. “I implore you, wear a mask,” he said, calling it the “single most effective thing we can do to stop the spread of COVID.” A mask, he said, “is not a political statement but it is a good way to start pulling the country together.”
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