President-elect Joe Biden on Monday announced the team he wants to have lead his response to the nation's greatest public health crisis in a century after he takes office in January.
Biden said in a statement that he will nominate
Xavier Becerra
Biden said he would nominate Dr. Rochelle Walensky as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Walensky is chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and a Harvard Medical School professor.
Biden selected Jeff Zients to be the White House coordinator of the coronavirus response, a point person for efforts by agencies and state and local governments on vaccine distribution and supply chain issues. Zients, a veteran of the Obama administration with extensive business ties, is
known for having spearheaded the work to fix the healthcare.gov website
Biden also said he would nominate Dr. Vivek Murthy as Surgeon General. Murthy has been a key coronavirus adviser to Biden, regularly briefing him on the pandemic during his campaign and the transition. Murthy was Surgeon General during the Obama administration.
Murthy
faced pushback when Obama nominated him for the job
Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith
The appointments help round out Biden's team charged with addressing the pressing COVID-19 crisis. On Thursday Biden announced Dr. Anthony Fauci would continue his role as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases while also serving as his chief medical adviser on COVID-19.
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