Biden Names Health Secretary, COVID Czar, Other Key Members To Health Team

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President-elect Joe Biden has picked Xavier Becerra, shown here in a 2018 file photo, as his nominee for health and human services secretary.

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Biden also said he would nominate Dr. Vivek Murthy as surgeon general. Murthy has been a key coronavirus adviser to Biden, regularly briefing him on the pandemic during his campaign and the transition. Murthy was surgeon general during the Obama administration.

Murthy faced pushback when Obama nominated him for the job after the National Rifle Association raised alarms about his support for an assault weapons ban. In his confirmation hearing, when asked about this, Murthy insisted he intended to use his platform as surgeon general not to push for gun control but to draw attention to obesity prevention.

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Biden Administration: Here’s Who Has Been Named So Far

Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, director of the Equity Research and Innovation Center at Yale School of Medicine, will lead a new task force aimed at reducing disparities in response, care and treatment for COVID-19, the Biden team said.

The appointments help round out Biden’s team charged with addressing the pressing COVID-19 crisis. On Thursday, Biden announced that Dr. Anthony Fauci would continue his role as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases while also serving as his chief medical adviser on COVID-19.

• Biden transition
• COVID
• Joe Biden