Karnataka-origin Dr. Vivek Murthy may co-chair Joe Biden’s coronavirus task force

www.mangaloretoday.com

Bengaluru, Nov 8, 2020: Indian-American physician Dr Vivek Murthy is expected to co-chair the coronavirus task force which President-elect Joe Biden is going to announce on Monday.

Murthy, 43, who originally hails from Karnataka, was appointed America’s 19th Surgeon General by then-president Barack Obama in 2014.

Born in the UK, he was the youngest ever to hold the office at the age of 37. He was later asked to step down by the Trump administration.

Biden, in his victory speech in Wilmington, Delaware on Saturday night, said: “On Monday, I will name a group of leading scientists and experts as Transition Advisors to help take the Biden-Harris Covid plan and convert it into an action blueprint that starts on January 20th, 2021. The President-elect, however, did not announce who would lead that task force.

The Washington Post said that the task force would be co-chaired by Dr Murthy, the former Surgeon General, and David Kessler, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner.

“The task force… could begin meeting within days,” the daily said. In his victory speech, Biden said that the plan will be built on a bedrock of science.

“It will be constructed out of compassion, empathy and concern. I will spare no effort — or commitment — to turn this pandemic around,” he said.

During the campaign period, Murthy emerged as one of the top advisors of Biden on public health and coronavirus issues. Many believe that he might end up being the Health Secretary in the Biden administration.

In May, the Biden Campaign appointed congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and Murthy as co-chairs to the Healthcare Task Force.

At a fundraiser organised by Indian-Americans in September which was addressed by Biden, Murthy had said that Biden is the kind of guy he would like to invite home for dinner.