President-elect Joe Biden told CNN that he asked Dr. Anthony Fauci to serve as chief medical adviser in his administration while remaining in his long-time role as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“I asked him to stay on the exact same role he’s had for the past several presidents, and I asked him to be a chief medical adviser for me as well, and be part of the COVID team,” Biden said.
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This comes as the country is seeing a spike in coronavirus cases and deaths. On Wednesday, the number of patients hospitalized with coronavirus surpassed 100k for the first time since the start of the pandemic. A record number of Americans– more that 2700–also died from the virus.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is one of the most trusted members of the White House coronavirus task force and is often at odds with Donald Trump over his insistence that Americans wear a mask and practise social distancing to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
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During the interview, Biden also said he would be “happy” to take the COVID vaccine once Fauci says it is safe. “That’s the moment in which I will stand before the public” and get the vaccine, Biden said. “People have lost faith in the ability of the vaccine to work. Already the numbers are really staggeringly low, and it matters what the President and Vice President do.”
