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.
According to the latest update by Johns Hopkins University, the move comes as the U.S. neared 10 million total coronavirus cases with more than 237,000 deaths amid what's being described as the third COVID-19 wave.
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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.
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“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.”
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The scientists and public health experts on the board will consult with state and local officials to “determine the public health and economic steps necessary to get the virus under control, to deliver immediate relief to working families, to address ongoing racial and ethnic disparities, and to reopen our schools and businesses safely and effectively.”
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The board is expected to come up with a seven-point plan to beat COVID-19, including ramping up testing, securing personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chains with the Defense Production Act, and investing in vaccines.
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Meanwhile, Biden is expected to push to restore the Obama-era White House National Security Council Directorate for Health Security and Biodefense, while re-engaging with the World Health Organization.
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Biden’s move to re-engage with the World Health Organization comes after Trump submitted a notice to withdraw, which would not become effective until July 2021.
Biden is also expected to re-launch the U.S. Agency for International Development’s pathogen tracking program called “PREDICT,” and will call on all governors to enact mask mandates. One of Joe Biden's first priorities as president-elect will be implementing mask mandates nationwide by working with governors. The future 46th president, however, says if they refuse then he will go to mayors and county executives and get local masking requirements in place.
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As for social distancing, Biden's plan says it will be used as more of a "dial" approach that will determine the risk of spread using evidence-based guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a move Siegel says is a mistake.
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