WASHINGTON (Reuters) – White House COVID coordinator Jeff Zients will leave his post next month and will be replaced by public health expert
Dr. Ashish Jha, U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday.
Jha, an internist who leads the Brown University School of Public Health and is a television commentator, takes on the new role as the United States shifts to a new phase of the pandemic two years after the novel coronavirus upended the nation.
“Americans are safely moving back to more normal routines, using the effective new tools we have to enable us to reduce severe COVID cases and make workplaces and schools safer,” Biden said in a statement. “But our work in combating COVID is far from done.”
Jha is the “perfect person” to fight COVID “as we enter a new moment in the pandemic,” he added.
New U.S. COVID-19 cases have fallen to a seven-day average of 35,412 following a peak in January during the latest wave from the Omicron variant. Deaths and hospitalizations have also fallen, and all 50 U.S. states have lifted pandemic-related restrictions such as mask wearing as officials tout vaccines.
Still, some public health officials warn the U.S. could see another spike in cases as the virus continues to evolve and have urged caution, particularly as Europe and China see rising cases.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is still pushing for another tranche of federal funding to bolster the country’s pandemic preparedness.
The White House had sought $22.5 billion. Congress countered with about $15 billion, but it was ultimately stripped the larger government funding bill signed into law this week, with lawmakers saying they would take up the issue separately.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey)
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