Barack Obama's former Vice President will now go by a new title, President-Elect Joe Biden. Assuming his new role, the former U.S. Senator has announced the names of those who will contribute to his COVID-19 task force. Rick Bright, Zeke Emmanuel, Marcella Nunez-Smith, Atul Gawande, Vivek Murthy and David Kessler will join his task force.
The President-Elect has been adamant about addressing the coronavirus pandemic during his first 100 days in office. During his remarks on Saturday, the former Vice President said that the COVID-19 pandemic would be the toughest test his administration will face.
“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,” he said.
The task force will not officially enter the White House until late January. However, those close to the campaign believe that the group will begin meeting in December.
“I think that’s quite likely that would occur right away,” Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Biden's announcement comes as the United States experiences a surge in confirmed COVID-19 cases. Within the last two weeks, the United States has set its single day record for confirmed COVID-19 cases three different times. Furthermore, COVID-19 cases are rising in 80% of U.S. States. As a result, cities like Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Kansas City have began reverting to COVID-19 precautions that were taken in March and April. Unfortunately, a publicly available coronavirus vaccination is still months away.
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