Biden taps Murthy as nation's top doctor, offers Fauci key role as covid team takes shape
Source: Washington Post
President-elect Joe Biden at a health briefing in late October with former surgeon general Vivek H. Murthy and Celine Gounder, a professor of medicine at New York University. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
By
Toluse Olorunnipa and
Amy Goldstein
Dec. 3, 2020 at 7:12 p.m. EST
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden has selected a close adviser to help lead the nation's response to the coronavirus crisis, tapping a veteran of the Obama administration to serve as America's top doctor as the country suffers from a surging pandemic.
Vivek H. Murthy, a former U.S. surgeon general, has been asked to reprise the role in an expanded version in the new administration, according to an individual familiar with the decision.
Murthy is expected to be part of a team of health-care officials charged with tackling the issue Biden has said would be his top priority upon taking office, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because decisions have not been officially announced.
On Thursday, Biden told CNN that Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, would serve as a chief medical adviser and help his administration with its coronavirus response plan. Fauci, who served on President Trump’s coronavirus task force, has been attacked by the president in recent months as he has contradicted the White House’s message that the pandemic is under control and on the verge of disappearing.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-murthy-fauci-coronavirus/2020/12/03/b041daf2-358c-11eb-a997-1f4c53d2a747_story.html