All over social media you probably have a group of people constantly shoved in your face called the Coronavirus task force. Who exactly are they, and what are they doing during this difficult time?
When COVID-19 was becoming a bigger threat in the United States near the end of January, President Trump put together a group of people to handle this virus and to work with companies among this outbreak. They would hold briefings at the White House on a daily basis to reassure the American people of the actions that are being taken in terms of our economy. The task force also discussed health factors that are being taken in place.
Vice President Mike Pence is in charge of the task force along with the State Department's Global AIDS Director Dr. Deborah L. Birx, Head of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Secretary of Health Alex M. Azar II, Dr. Robert R. Redfield, top immigration official, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, Dr. Jerome Adams, Surgeon General of the U.S., and Administrator for the Centers for medicare and medicaid services Seema Verma. However, who are these people?
Vice President Pence was put in charge of the coronavirus task force by President Trump for the federal government to respond to the outbreak in the U.S. Pence has had experience handling the outbreak of MERS when he was the governor of Indiana.
Dr. Birx was nominated by President Obama in 2014 to study HIV/AIDS. She worked on the President’s emergency plan for AIDS relief and supported funding for the fight against AIDS. With her experience on tackling a disease with no known cure, she now faces the coronavirus and updates Vice President Pence on the latest of the Virus, with her experience.
Dr. Fauci was appointed Head of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) in 1984 by President Ronald Regan. Since then, he has served under six presidents. His main duty is to make sure there are preventions to new diseases. He also studied and worked on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, as well as Ebola in Africa. His new task is to take on the coronavirus and look at treatments that can be used to prevent the spread of this infectious disease.
Alex M. Azar II has been the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) for two years. His primary role is to advise President Trump on the status of health in the public, manages the Center for Disease and Control (CDC), oversees The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and to make sure Native American Tribes live in healthy conditions.
Dr. Robert R. Redfield is the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Dr. Redfield’s primary responsibility is to oversee the government’s response to new outbreaks, such as the Coronavirus and report it to the HHS.
Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II is a leading immigration official in the United States. Cuccinelli oversees the traveling done across the country, such as airports, maritime travel, etc. Recently his actions involve where travel should be restricted and where certain locations could be a serious risk.
Dr. Jerome Adams is the current U.S. Surgeon General since 2017. He holds the rank of vice admiral of the United States public health service oversees 6,000+ public health officers. His role in the task force is to reassure the American people and to not hoard large amounts of masks, so that medical workers can have them.
Seema Verma has been the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service for three years. Verma spends money on providing healthcare one-third of Americans and helps those to obtain medicare.
These eight people are the federal government’s response, and work 20 hours a day in order to vanquish this invisible enemy. The White House Task Force meets in the briefing room almost everyday to discuss with reporters on what actions are being taken in order for us to get back to our normal lives. The three individuals who are up there everyday with the president are Vice President Pence, Dr. Fauci, and Dr. Birx with other members coming in from time-to-time.
Comments