(Eagle News) – US Vice-President Mike Pence announced on Thursday, Feb. 27, that the US government’s leading official on HIV/AIDS will be the new White House coronavirus coordinator.
In a statement released by the White House, Pence said that Ambassador-at-large Debbie Birx, the US Global Aids coordinator, will be joining the US team tasked to combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“Today, Vice President Mike Pence announced the following individual to a key position on his team to combat the spread of the Coronavirus: Ambassador Debbie Birx, to serve as the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator,” the White House statement said.
The statement said that Birx “will be detailed to the Office of the Vice President and will report to Vice President Mike Pence.”
“She will also join the Task Force led by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. She will be supported by the National Security Council staff,” the White House statement added.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump appointed Pence to lead the US response to the coronavirus disease.
“I’m going to be announcing exactly right now that I’m going to be putting our vice president Mike Pence in charge,” Trump said.
“Mike will be working with the professionals and doctors and everybody else that’s working on the team.”
-Ambassador Birx’s expertise cited-
Ambassador Birx is described as a world-renowned global health official and physician who “has been utilizing the best science to change the course of the HIV pandemic and bring the pandemic under control, community by community and country by country.”
“Her focus over three decades has been on HIV/AIDS immunology, vaccine research, and global health. She has developed and patented vaccines, including leading one of the most influential HIV vaccine trials in history,” the White House said.
In fact, three different US Administrations across both political parties have relied on her knowledge and judgement.
She was first nominated by former US President Barack Obama and confirmed by the US Senate as US Ambassador-At-Large and US Global AIDS coordinator.
She was sworn in April 2014 and has been responsible for the US$6 billion program of the US President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 65 countries supporting the HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs. PEPFAR is a US government initiative, launched by former US President George Bush in 2003, to address the global HIV/AIDS pandemic.
The White House said that Ambassador Birx has deep experience in coordinating across various US agencies.
“She has worked from the research bench to the clinic, but understands the primary focus must always be to reach the individuals most in need,” it said.
“She will bring her infectious disease, immunologic, vaccine research and interagency coordinating capacity to this position,” it added.
Trump earlier warned that the coronavirus outbreak could worsen in the United States, but that such a situation is not inevitable.
As of Thursday, there are 60 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the US, based of the Joh Hopkins University’s dashboard on coronavirus cases. Only six have so far recovered.
As of the latest update on Friday, Feb. 28, at least 82,555 people worldwide have contracted the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, with the death toll at 2,810 mostly in China’s Hubei province, according to the John Hopkins University’s database that collects information from various official sources.
There are so far more than 33,000 who have recovered from the disease.
(Eagle News Service with photos from Agence France Presse)