Ashish Jha Named New White House COVID-19 Coordinator

President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that he had named Ashish Jha, M.D., the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, to replace Jeff Zients as the country’s COVID-19 coordinator when Zients leaves his post next month.

In a statement about Jha’s appointment, Biden highlighted his communication skills and familiarity with Americans through his cable news appearances. “As we enter a new moment in the pandemic — executing on my National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan and managing the ongoing risks from COVID — Dr. Jha is the perfect person for the job,” Biden said. That plan was released by Zients and his team earlier this month and outlined how people can safely resume normal activities as pandemic restrictions and mandates are lifted, the Associated Press reported.

“When Jeff took this job, less than 1 percent of Americans were fully vaccinated; fewer than half our schools were open; and unlike much of the developed world, America lacked any at-home COVID tests,” Biden said in his statement. “Today, almost 80 percent of adults are fully vaccinated; over 100 million are boosted; virtually every school is open; and hundreds of millions of at-home tests are distributed every month.

Biden brought on Zients before he took office to craft and deliver a federal government response to the pandemic, including boosting supply and distribution of vaccines, therapeutics, and tests, the AP reported. Before serving as the White House COVID-19 coordinator, Zients was vice-chair of Biden’s transition. In the Obama administration, he was the director of the National Economic Council, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, and he led the effort to fix HealthCare.gov after its chaotic rollout in 2013.

Covid-19 coordinator is one of the most powerful roles in the federal government’s Covid-19 response. In this role, Jha will have sweeping power to set the nation’s policies for combating Covid-19 alongside other top officials like the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci and Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He will also likely play a central role in communicating that strategy to the American people.

 

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