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

Dr. Rick Bright — (Image credit: Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)

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.

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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.