Biden's new COVID-19 panel includes ex-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Trump whistleblower Rick Bright


President-elect Joe Biden announced Sunday that his COVID-19 "transition advisory board" would be led by former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and Dr. David Kessler, a former FDA commissioner. He will meet with the new task force on Monday.
The other dozen high-profile doctors on the task force, Politico reports, include Atul Gawande, a former Health and Humans Services official and New Yorker writer; Rick Bright, the vaccine expert who testified against President Trump after being ousted as head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; University of Minnesota infectious disease specialist Michael Osterholm; former FDA chief scientist and Trump National Security Council member Luciana Borio; Zeke Emanuel; Yale's Marcella Nunez-Smith, NYU's Celine Grounder; Eric Goosby and Robert Rodriguez at UC San Francisco; Julie Morita of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; and Loyce Pace of the Global Health Council.
The U.S. just surpassed 10 million COVID-19 cases and is averaging more than 100,000 cases and 1,000 deaths a day. Public health experts warn there could be another 100,000 deaths before Biden is inaugurated Jan. 20. The task force will turn Biden's campaign proposals for tackling the coronavirus into a governing blueprint, including free testing, hiring contact tracers, and providing clear guidance. Public health experts hope the new president can enact a national response to the pandemic and clarify months of mixed messaging from Trump and his administration.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The IDF's manpower problem
The Explainer Israeli military's shortage of up to 12,000 troops results in call-up for tens of thousands of reservists
-
Quiz of The Week: 16 – 22 August
Quiz Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
Can Soho House get its edge back?
Talking Point The private members' club has lost its exclusive appeal – but a £2 billion buy-out could offer a fresh start
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreak
Speed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agency
Speed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year high
Speed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, change
Speed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panel
speed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC