World News – AU – Biden selects California attorney general to lead US response to Trump Covid

President-elect Joe Biden announced key members of his health team Monday, along with California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a prominent defender of the Affordable Care Act, to lead the administration’s coronavirus response as Secretary of Health.

If this is confirmed by the Senate, Becerra, 62, will be the first Latino to head the Department of Health and Human Services, a $ 1 trillion agency with over 80. 000 employees and a portfolio that includes drugs and vaccines, medical research and health insurance programs for more than 130 million Americans.

Becerra would take the reins as the health authority struggles to tackle a coronavirus resurgence, including record infections and a daily count of 2. 000 fatalities in the last days 2. 000, and a mammoth effort is preparing to vaccinate Americans against the virus. According to Johns Hopkins University, there are more than 282. 000 Americans died of Covid-19.

« This trustworthy and savvy team of executives will bring the highest level of integrity, scientific accuracy, and crisis management experience to one of the greatest challenges America has ever faced – getting the pandemic under control so the American people can reach it. » can go back to work, back to their lives and back to loved ones, ”Biden said in a statement.

With emergency use approval for at least one vaccine imminent in the U.S., health officials will face a number of challenges as they embark on one of the most ambitious public health efforts in their history, to be safe and effective, introduce multiple coronavirus vaccines.

Becerra was expected to lead the way in sourcing sufficient doses to vaccinate the population, persuade vaccine skeptics to immunize, track first and second rounds of vaccine doses for each patient, address insurance coverage and cost issues as needed, and respond to all Security concerns.

« Biden is living up to its commitment to making the cabinet a reflection of diversity, » said Robert Garcia, Mayor of Long Beach, Calif. and longtime ally of Becerra and Biden.

Other appointments announced on Monday included Dr. Vivek Murthy as a general surgeon, a key role in communicating health policy. Murthy previously held the role under Barack Obama and was the first surgeon general of Indian descent.

Biden appointed Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Massachusetts General Hospital director of infectious diseases and a Harvard professor, as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Medicine, has been named chair of a task force to promote equity in the prevention, treatment and vaccination against Covid-19.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was largely excluded by Donald Trump, was to remain chairman of the national institute for allergies and infectious diseases while assuming a new role as chief physician to the President of Covid-19.

Jeffrey Zients, former Obama budget director and economic adviser, has been appointed to co-ordinate the Covid-19 Response Team, a deputy of which was former White House and Pentagon adviser Natalie Quillian.

« This is a team that looks like America and brings together leaders with extensive public health, government and crisis management experience, » read a statement from the Biden campaign. “They are experts in their field at restoring public confidence in the pandemic response by using facts, science, integrity and a laser focus to bring Covid-19 under control. ”

As California’s attorney general, Becerra has led the coalition of Democratic States that defended « Obamacare » ahead of recent efforts by the Trump administration to overturn it. This lawsuit is awaiting a decision by the Supreme Court next year.

Becerra, a former senior House Democrat, played a role in the governance of the Obama health bill through Congress in 2009 and 2010. At the time, he told reporters that one of the main motivations for him was having tens of thousands of uninsured people in his southern California district.

Monitoring the coronavirus response is going to be the most complicated task Becerra has ever thought about. By next year, the US will be participating in a mass vaccination campaign that was founded by the Trump administration. As California’s attorney general, Becerra was jokingly known in democratic law as the man who sued Trump more than anyone. Beyond health care, the lawsuits focused on issues ranging from immigration to environmental policy.

His mother was born in Jalisco, Mexico and immigrated to the United States after marrying his father.

Joe Biden, Xavier Becerra, United States Department of Health and Human Services, California Attorney General, United States Senate, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services