Indian-American Dr. Vivek Murthy, who was appointed Surgeon General by US President Donald Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, has received the suggestion to get a key role in healthcare in a possible Joe Biden administration. as the Democratic candidate approaches victory in the presidential election.
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Murthy is expected to play a key role as the “face” of the Biden administration’s response to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. Murthy, one of Biden’s two top Indian-American advisers, has been privately advising Biden on the pandemic for months.
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“Biden has spoken often of his briefings with experts, and Dr. Murthy and former Director of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. David Kessler, have been two of the most prominent medical figures whose advice Biden has sought over the years. the public health crisis, “said the New York Times. reported. “Murthy and I would report to Biden every day or four times a week,” Kessler said in the newspaper.
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Murthy, 43, is originally from a village in the Mandya district of Karnataka. He was the United States Surgeon General from December 2014 to April 2017 and, at age 37, was the youngest to hold the position. Subsequently, the Trump administration asked him to resign.
Biden, who served as Obama’s vice president for two consecutive terms from 2009 to 2017, has repeatedly spoken out about the action against Covid-19 on his first day in the White House. “We are not waiting to get the job done,” he said in a speech Friday night.
The United States has the highest number of Covid-19 cases globally, as well as the highest number of deaths due to the disease. The country has registered more than 100,000 new daily cases and more than 1,000 deaths from the virus in recent days. Its Covid-19 case count is 9,744,491 and deaths at 236,155, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker.
(With contributions from the agency)
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