Two such notables will lead Biden’s 10-member coronavirus task force – the first big item on the transition team’s checklist…reports Nikhila Natarajan
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Bureaucrats dumped by President Donald Trump are America’s hot hires on the first Monday after President-elect Joe Biden and VP-elect Kamala Harris belted out their victory speeches.
Two such notables will lead Biden’s 10-member coronavirus task force – the first big item on the transition team’s checklist.
Topping the fired-by-Trump list is Indian American Dr. Vivek Murthy, a former US Surgeon General chucked out within four months of the Trump takeover in 2017.
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Another notable is Dr. Rick Bright, a vaccine expert who filed a whistleblower complaint after being sidelined for his pushback against Trump’s unfounded claims around hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug.
The task force co-chairs are Murthy, former Food Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. David Kessler and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a Yale University professor.
Combo photo shows U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump attend their respective events on different occasions. (Xinhua/IANS)
Other than Murthy and Bright, Biden’s task force features many outspoken Trump critics who have been wringing their hands for months over America’s ongoing public health catastrophe: Dr. Atul Gawande, a renowned surgeon and author; Dr. Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist; Luciana Borio, a biodefence specialist; Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist at the National Institutes of Health; Dr. Celine Gounder; Dr. Julie Morita, a paediatric specialist; Loyce Pace, a global health maven; Dr. Robert Rodriguez, an emergency medicine specialist and Dr. Eric Goosby, an infectious disease expert with expertise in AIDS/HIV.
“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 on Monday.