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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in 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.
-
Five best ways to save money at the petrol pump
The Explainer You don't have to wait for petrol prices to fall to reduce your fuel costs
-
Exurbs: America's biggest housing trend you haven't heard of
Under the Radar Northeastern exurbs were the nation's biggest housing markets in 2024
-
How to enjoy a coolcation in Sweden
The Week Recommends You won't break a sweat on Lake Asnen or underground at the Adventure Mine
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015
Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozens
Speed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cows
Speed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year