Washington, December 7: Indian-American Dr Vivek Murthy, the former US Surgeon General, is part of the seven-member health team of US President-elect Joe Biden. Dr Vivek Murthy will be Surgeon General of the United States. Joe Biden picked Xavier Becerra as Health and Human Services Secretary and Anthony Fauci, a top US infectious disease expert, as his Chief Medical Advisor on the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Biden-Harris Announce All-women White House Communications Team.

Other members of Biden's health team are Dr Rochelle Walensky (Director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention), Dr Marcella Nunez-Smith (COVID-19 Equity Task Force Chair), Jeff Zients (Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response and Counselor to the President) and Natalie Quillian (Deputy Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response).

"Our health team will be ready to combat our most pressing health challenges: containing the pandemic, tackling inequity, and ensuring every American has access to affordable, quality health care. They will lead with science, expertise, and integrity," the transitional team of Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said.

Joe Biden's Health Team:

Dr Murthy served as the 19th Surgeon General of the United States, and currently serves as co-chair of the President-elect’s COVID-19 Advisory Board.  Known as "America's Doctor", he is a decorated physician, research scientist, and former Vice Admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

Biden has made clear that it will be a top priority for his administration to address the pandemic, which has infected more than 14.7 million people in the United States, with 2,82,236 deaths. The Democrat has also said that he will urge Americans to wear masks for his first 100 days after taking office.

Last week, Biden announced a seven-member all-women team to lead the White House communications war room, headed by his campaign communications director Kate Bedingfield. This is the first time in American political history that the senior White House communications team will be entirely female.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 07, 2020 08:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).