Biden administration to focus on masks and forging national plan to slow COVID-19

Successful results from studies of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine are encouraging, but President-elect Joe Biden’s immediate focus in fighting the pandemic is getting more states to institute mask mandates, which could save as many as 130,000 lives in the coming months, according to a November 13, 2020 NPR interview with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Atul Gawande.

Gawande, a professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, founder and chair of Ariadne Labs, and member of Biden’s Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board, has made several recent media appearances to discuss the challenges the incoming administration is facing and what it will take to curb the spread of COVID-19.

In a November 15, 2020 ABC News This Week segment, Gawande said it’s vital that members of the Biden administration get access to regular COVID-19 threat assessments and vaccine distribution plans from the outgoing Trump administration.

Gawande also discussed the need for masks and other challenges on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes, and he later appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, to underscore the urgent need for a comprehensive national plan to fight COVID-19.

Listen to the NPR segment: Member Of Biden’s Coronavirus Advisory Board On What Could Be Done To Fight Pandemic

Watch the ABC News This Week segment: Dr. Atul Gawande on Trump COVID response: We’ve lacked ‘a clear voice from the top’

Watch the MSNBC All In with Chris Hayes segment: Biden Covid team member: We need to hit over 90% mask use to curve the pandemic

Watch the MSNBC Morning Joe segment: Doctor calls for ‘national comprehensive plan’ on virus