U.S. President-elect Joe Biden unveiled his coronavirus task force on Monday to examine the No. 1 problem that will confront him when he takes office in January.
The advisory board is co-chaired by former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Yale University Associate Professor Marcella Nunez-Smith.
The board will examine how best to tame a pandemic that has killed more than 237,000 Americans.
Biden is expected to meet the members virtually on Monday and unveil his plans for tackling COVID-19 and rebuilding the economy.
“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.
Even as Trump declines to concede and some of his closest allies encourage him to exhaust every recourse for hanging onto power, the Biden-appointed scientists and experts will liaise with local and state officials on the pandemic response.
They will consider how to safely reopen schools and businesses and tackle racial disparities.
The Biden panel includes Rick Bright, a whistleblower who says he was removed from his Trump administration post for raising concerns about coronavirus preparedness, and Luciana Borio, who specializes in complex public health emergencies.
