Biden Announces Health Team Including Latinx Secretary and Director Fauci

Health Team Formed to Ensure Gender and Racial Diversity for Overcoming COVID-19

Xavier Becerra, Nominee for U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services [Photo by AP News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] President-elect Joe Biden announced his health team on the 7th (local time), including Latinx Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

According to the transition team, as reported a day earlier, Latinx California Attorney General Javier Becerra was nominated as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Director Fauci will serve as NIAID Director while also acting as a senior advisor to the President. Although there had been concerns about his possible dismissal by President Donald Trump, Fauci will be advising the seventh president during his directorship term.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, an infectious disease expert, was appointed as the next Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Jeff Zients, designated as White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator and Presidential Advisor, will also serve as the 'COVID czar' overseeing the pandemic response.

Alongside Zients, Vivek Murthy was appointed as Surgeon General of the Department of Health and Human Services and co-chair of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) to help overcome COVID-19.

Director Anthony Fauci (right) and U.S. President Donald Trump [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Marcella Nunez-Smith, co-chair of Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board and associate professor at Yale School of Medicine, will chair the COVID-19 Equity Task Force.

President-elect Biden balanced gender and racial representation in his health team appointments, similar to the previously announced foreign security and economic teams. Among the seven appointments announced that day, three are women. If confirmed by the Senate, Becerra will become the first Latinx Secretary of Health and Human Services in the United States.

Biden expressed his expectation that "this team will control the disease with the highest level of integrity, scientific rigor, and crisis management experience at a time when America faces one of its toughest challenges."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.