US President-elect Joe Biden announces new COVID-19 task force under former surgeon general Vivek Murthy

Nov 9, 2020, 12:13 IST

The 12 members COVID-19 task force will be co-chaired by the former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy whose appointment comes at a time when the US has been witnessing a record number of Coronavirus cases.

COVID-19 task Force in United States
COVID-19 task Force in United States

The President-elect of United States, Joe Biden has announced that he will be setting up a task force for COVID-19 under physician Vivek Murthy who was also earlier appointed as the Surgeon General under the presidency of Barack Obama. Mr. Biden made the announcement during his victory speech in Wilmington, Delaware.

The 12 members COVID-19 task force will be co-chaired by the former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy whose appointment comes at a time when the US has been witnessing a record number of Coronavirus cases.

The other members of the task force co-chairing along with Vivek Murthy will be David Kessler, Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, a Professor of Public Health at Yale University, Marcella Nunez-Smith, and a former Obama Administration health advisor, Ezekiel Emanuel.

What will be the work of the COVID-19 Task Force?

The 12-member task force will work on an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic that has infected millions of US citizens and has damaged the economy of the nation. While informing about the COVID-19 task force, Mr. Biden assured that he will spare no effort of turning around this pandemic.

Joe Biden also underlined that the panel working on controlling the Coronavirus pandemic will be converting his Coronavirus fighting plan into an action blueprint that will be built on the bedrock of science.

Vivek Murthy: Approach to tackle COVID-19

In the past, Vivek Murthy had always advocated a science-based approach to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and had cautioned against the politics and politicians dictating the COVID-19 pandemic response.

He had also highlighted Trump's government haste in dealing with the vaccine approval and had criticized Donald Trump’s statement on overruling the FDA guidance on the approval of the vaccine.

Earlier in August 2020, Vivek Murthy had also raised questions about rushing for an emergency approval for the vaccine in the US. While commenting on the government’s actions he had highlighted that the highest priorities in vaccine development are safety and speed is secondary and no amount of political pressure must compel the FDA to compromise their standards.

Shailaja Tripathi is an educational content writer with 2 years of experience. She is a Masters in Political Science from Delhi University and also holds a Bachelors in Education. At jagranjosh.com, she creates content for school students and college audiences. You can reach her at shailaja.tripathi@jagrannewmedia.com
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