Key points:
- The first day I will be introduced… I will ask the public for 100 days of masking.
- When asked if he had talked to Fauci and if he was going to ask him to stay, Biden replied Yes, yes.”
- In a joint interview with CNN on a wide range of topics, both Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris spoke ahead of the ceremony on January 20.
For the first 100 days of his administration, President-elect Joe Biden has stated he would ask Americans to wear a mask to help combat the ongoing spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In an interview with CNN:
He also said that he requested Dr Anthony Fauci, the top epidemiologist who frequently clashed with President Donald Trump, to continue as chief medical advisor.
In a joint interview with CNN on a wide range of topics, both Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris spoke ahead of the ceremony on January 20.
The first day I will be inaugurated… I will ask the public for 100 days of masking. Only 100 days of masking, not forever,’ stated Biden. However, in federal buildings as well as on public transport, masks would be compulsory.
Biden asked about Anthony Fauci:
He expressed hopes that vaccines and masking would dramatically push Covid numbers down. When asked if he had talked to Fauci and if he was going to ask him to stay, Biden replied Yes, yes.”
I asked him to remain in the same role he had for several presidents in the past, and I requested him to be a chief medical advisor for me and to also be part of the Covid team.
Biden would join his predecessors, George W Bush, Bill Clinton, as well as Barack Obama, to publicly vaccinate Covid-19 to convince sceptical Americans.
“It’s important to tell the American people that it’s safe and secure to do that.”
All-female white house team:
Meanwhile, Harris has named an all-female White House group: Tina Flournoy as chief of staff; Rohini Kosoglu as a domestic policy adviser, a longtime associate of Sri Lankan descent; as well as Nancy McEldowney as a national security advisor, a career diplomat.
Vivek Murthy Surgeon General?
There are rumours that Biden would nominate Vivek Murthy, an Indian American, to serve as Surgeon General, reappointing him to a position he held in the second term of President Barack Obama.
This time, there will be a wider mandate for Murthy, who co-chairs Biden’s Covid-19 advisory board. Murthy has been vying for Secretary of Health as well as Human Services, but Biden is currently looking at Hispanic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico.
