Devex: U.S. should reengage in global health in Biden government, senator says
“The United States should support global vaccine development and delivery under a Biden administration and ‘turn the tide of this pandemic globally and reengage in a way that reimagines our role in public health,’ Senator Chris Coons said at an event Monday. The U.S. needs to ‘lead by example’ and to do so it must first get the coronavirus pandemic under control domestically, said Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, who is close to President-elect Joe Biden, and is rumored to be among those considered to become secretary of state in the new administration…” (Saldinger, 11/17).

New York Times: Dr. Céline Gounder, Adviser to Biden, on the Next Covid Attack Plan
“When President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. takes office in January, he will inherit a pandemic that has convulsed the country. His transition team last week announced a 13-member team of scientists and doctors who will advise on control of the coronavirus. One of them is Dr. Céline Gounder, an infectious disease specialist at Bellevue Hospital Center and assistant professor at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine. In a wide-ranging conversation with the New York Times, she discussed plans to prioritize racial inequities, to keep schools open as long as possible, and to restore the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the premiere public health agency in the world…” (Mandavilli, 11/16).

POLITICO: Biden pressures Trump on coronavirus: ‘More people may die if we don’t coordinate’
“President-elect Joe Biden pressed the Trump administration Monday to offer up more details about how it intends to allocate Covid-19 vaccinations once they are available, while also accusing the president of putting lives at risk by refusing to coordinate with his team…” (Niedzwiadek, 11/16).

Reuters: ‘More people may die,’ Biden says, if Trump goes on blocking pandemic cooperation
“…Biden will inherit an economy that has suffered millions of job losses during a pandemic that has killed more than 246,000 people in the United States. U.S. COVID-19 cases are surging as Biden prepares to take office on Jan. 20…” (Hunnicutt et al., 11/16).

Washington Post: Biden wants to curb the coronavirus but steers clear of shutdowns
“President-elect Joe Biden and his team Monday sent the clearest signal yet that he won’t put the country into another national shutdown, showing deep concern for a fragile economy amid a massive spike in coronavirus infections that is straining hospitals and plunging the nation into a more severe crisis…” (Linskey/Sullivan, 11/16).