VIVEK MURTHY

As America’s first second gentleman, Doug Emhoff has visited 31 states to promote Biden administration policies and the coronavirus vaccine.

The coronavirus pandemic is beginning to recede as a top priority in the minds of Americans.

New federal numbers show the nation's schools are hiring and training staff and expanding previous curricula to address student mental health.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy joined "CBS Mornings" to discuss the latest news about the Omicron variant and what to expect from President Biden's address to the nation about COVID-19 on Tuesday. Murthy also addressed whether we could be headed for another lockdown and if it will be safe to travel and gather with family for the holidays.

Schools are turning to educational programs based on cognitive behavior therapy in an effort to help overwhelmed children stay in school and learn.

The advisory's first recommendation suggests mental health should be acknowledged as an essential part of overall health.

The following is a transcript of an interview with Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General, that aired on Sunday, December 5, 2021, on "Face the Nation."

U.S Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and more appear on Sunday's "Face the Nation."

Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, Murthy recommended that vaccinated families who will be gathering indoors with unvaccinated people take some precautions.

The White House is urging schools to host vaccine clinics for kids in the 5-11 age group now that a COVID-19 shot has been approved for them.

The federal government wants schools to hold vaccination clinics to offer the COVID shot to kids and provide info to parents on vaccines.

Franklin Sherman Elementary was the first school to administer the polio vaccine to kids in 1954. Now it's once again at the forefront, hosting a COVID-19 vaccine event with first lady Jill Biden.

The Biden administration is encouraging local school districts to host clinics to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to kids and information to parents on the benefits of the shots.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Pfizer's pediatric vaccine just last week, on November 2.

PLEASANT, MI - Members of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe welcomed First Lady Jill Biden to Mt. Biden visited the Ziibiwing Center, located at 6650 E Broadway Road, to hold a discussion with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe Chief Tim Davis, educators, community members and local Project AWARE administrators. Related: First Lady Jill Biden visits Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, discusses mental health program“Looking around at all of you and this beautiful family and just seeing your hearts, and seeing where your hearts are, and that’s what gives me hope,” First Lady Jill Biden said. “We’ve been, as a nation, as a country, we’ve been through such terrible times through this pandemic and our country needs healing.”60 First Lady Jill Biden visits Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe in Mt. Read more on MLive:First Lady Jill Biden to visit Saginaw Chippewa Tribe and DetroitMLive’s Best Local Eats: Try Wonder Burger food truck’s ‘Wonder Fries’Freighter set free after getting stuck in the Saginaw River‘These windows are replaceable, but a life is not’ Saginaw business owner says after drive-by shooting

First Lady Jill Biden arrived in Michigan on Sunday evening for her visit to the annual Yeshiva Beth Yehudah dinner in Detroit.

PLEASANT, MI - First Lady Jill Biden visited the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe in Mt. The tribe received a $9 million grant through Project AWARE in 2019 and serves Saginaw Chippewa Academy, Mount Pleasant Public Schools and Shepherd Public Schools through its program. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe Chief Tim Davis, educators, community members and local Project AWARE administrators joined Biden for the discussion. She said programs like Project AWARE give her hope for the future. Read more:First Lady Jill Biden to visit Saginaw Chippewa Tribe and DetroitCitizens who saved man from house fire honored by Ann Arbor Fire Department23-year-old Kalamazoo man stable after being shot ‘several’ times

Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNBC on Friday that Covid booster shots from Moderna, J&J and Pfizer are all safe and effective.

Children will soon be able to get a COVID-19​ vaccine​ at their pediatrician's office, local pharmacy and potentially even their school.

Federal regulators are expected to authorize the shot for children after they meet over the next two weeks.

Children will soon be able to get a COVID-19​ vaccine​ at their pediatrician's office, local pharmacy and potentially even their school.

Just a month ago, President Joe Biden and his health advisers announced big plans to soon deliver a coronavirus vaccine booster shot to all Americans.

Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan the infrastructure is in place to distribute boosters but warns vaccine mandates will harden skeptics

Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan the infrastructure is in place to distribute boosters but warns vaccine mandates will harden skeptics

"Success looks like very few people in the hospital and very few dying," Vivek Murthy told Politico.

This summer’s coronavirus surge has been labeled a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” by government officials from President Joe Biden on down.

Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine could receive full approval from the FDA as early as Monday, reports say. Latest COVID-19 updates.

And U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy defended the Biden administration’s booster shot plan.

Hawaii’s governor is urging residents and potential visitors to limit travel to the islands to essential business while the state struggles to control outbreaks of the delta variant of the coronavirus.

"I think that these measures, these requirements, are absolutely reasonable," Murthy said of COVID-19 vaccine mandates. "I think they will help."

Jesse Jackson was vaccinated against the virus and received his first dose in January during a publicized event. Latest COVID-19 news.

The school superintendent in Florida’s capital city says masks will be required for students in prekindergarten through eighth grade, becoming the seventh district to defy Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ban on such COVID-19 mandates.

The U.S. is planning booster doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, but if you got the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot instead, stay tuned.

Americans who received the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus vaccines should get a booster shot eight months after their second vaccine dose, federal health officials said Wednesday. The boosters will be available beginning Sept. 20, if the Food and Drug Administration agrees to the plan. They will go first to health care workers, nursing home residents and older adults, who were the first to receive the initial round of vaccinations after they were authorized in December. But the recommend

Top U.S. health officials announced a plan Wednesday to begin offering COVID-19 booster shots to Americans starting Sept. 20, with the scheduling of the additional...

U.S. COVID-19 breakthrough infections are 'uncommon,' rising 'considerably,' and 'sort of okay'

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy explains why the Biden administration is recommending booster shots for most vaccinated Americans beginning on Sept. 20.

Public health figures believe a focus on boosters for the already vaccinated will hasten the emergence of new variants among the billions of unvaccinated people — including a vaccine-resistant strain.

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said Wednesday that people who received two Moderna or Pfizer shots are considered fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, even though federal officials will encourage third shots to bolster immunity to the disease.

During the White House COVID-19 response team briefing on Wednesday, coordinator Jeff Zients and Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy responded affirmatively to a question about the ability of the United States to provide booster shots domestically while at the same time donating vaccines to other countries.

Murthy told "Takeout" host Major Garrett "it's just a matter of time" before COVID booster shots are required.

There is anxiety, however, as kids under 12 cannot get any of the COVID-19 vaccines. Could the vaccines become available for kids under 12 soon, though? Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said this week there is a high likelihood a COVID vaccine for children under 12 will be approved over the next school year. “I think the odds are high,” Murthy said during an interview on theSkimm’s podcast “Skimm This.”There are currently no COVID-19 vaccines on the market for children under 12. The best way to protect kids under 12 is for everyone in the household to get fully vaccinated, as long as they are eligible for the shots.

As new data from Pfizer shows a booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine provides strong protection against the highly-contagious Delta variant, federal officia

It’s enough to make you want to scream.

The U.S. Surgeon General is raising concerns about the lack of trust, willingness and due diligence to seek science and fact over fiction when it comes to the COVID vaccines and the virus itself.

Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines is costing people their lives. We separate the myths from the reality.

Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines is costing people their lives. We separate the myths from the reality.

As anti-vaccine propagandists exploit health agencies’ missteps, the crowdsourced encyclopedia offers a model for how to handle misinformation in real time.

Skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccination is a common theme in media appealing to conservatives, despite assurances from doctors and scientists that the vaccine is safe and effective.

Some areas across the country are implementing more restrictions as new Delta variant cases are on the rise.

There are two different realities in Florida.

Believers of the conspiracy theory say the microchips are being used to track people.

‘It’s going to be the most serious virus that they get in their lifetime in terms of the risk of putting them in the hospital,’ says former head of FDA

Dr. Vivek Murthy says nearly all deaths in the U.S. are now among the unvaccinated and that tech companies aren't doing enough against misinformation.

Dr. Vivek Murthy says nearly all deaths in the U.S. are now among the unvaccinated and that tech companies aren't doing enough against misinformation.

The victims were struck on Fayette Street just after 1 a.m.

As COVID-19 cases among unvaccinated populations surge nationwide, the White House points its finger at social media companies.

The U.S. surgeon general says he's worried about what lies ahead with cases of COVID-19 increasing in every state, millions still unvaccinated and a highly contagious virus variant spreading rapidly.

Noting that nearly all coronavirus deaths now are among the tens of millions of people who haven't received shots, despite widespread vaccine availability, Dr. Vivek Murthy painted an unsettling picture of what the future could hold.

Fauci speculates smallpox, polio would still exist if the efforts to vaccinate against those diseases had experienced similar pushback.

Two weeks after celebrating America’s near “independence” from the coronavirus, President Joe Biden is confronting the worrying reality of rising cases and deaths.

Sunday Talk Show Guests, July 18: Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy on "Face the Nation"; "This Week"; "Fox News Sunday"; "State of the Union"; "60 Minutes"

President Joe Biden says social media companies are “killing people” by failing to police misinformation on their platforms about the COVID-19 vaccines.

President Joe Biden said Friday that social media companies are “killing people” by failing to police misinformation on their platforms about COVID-19 vaccines. Biden’s comments came a day after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared misinformation about the vaccines a threat to public health, and as U.S. officials advised that deaths and serious illness from the virus are almost entirely preventable because of the vaccines. Biden, asked if he had a message for platforms like Facebook where false or misleading information about the coronavirus vaccines has spread, told reporters, “They’re killing people.”

The Delta variant and widespread vaccine hesitancy in red states has stalled progress on President Biden's battle against COVID-19 and threatens the economy's revival.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is urging technology companies, health care workers and everyday Americans to do more to stop the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines.

The more contagious delta COVID variant is gaining steam in the United States, especially in areas with lower rates of vaccination.

Thrown off-stride to reach its COVID-19 vaccination goal, the Biden administration is sending A-list officials across the country, devising ads for niche markets and enlisting community organizers to persuade unvaccinated people to get a shot.

Seven weeks ago, President Joe Biden laid out a lofty goal to vaccinate 70% of all American adults by July Fourth.

An elected Arizona utility regulator has shared discredited conspiracy theories while trying to persuade energy and power providers not to require their employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

The “pause” of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine last week is just the latest crisis-messaging challenge for officials during the pandemic.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy says COVID-19 vaccines would be made available at key airports in the state starting June 1.

South Korea’s daily increase in coronavirus infections exceeded 500 for the fourth straight day, a pace unseen since January, as experts raise concern about another viral surge amid a slow rollout in vaccines.

The Biden administration is unveiling a coalition of community, religious and celebrity partners to promote COVID-19 shots as it seeks to overcome vaccine hesitancy.

Surgeon General speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. The Senate has confirmed Murthy as surgeon generral on March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)WASHINGTON – The Senate confirmed a soft-spoken physician as President Joe Biden's surgeon general Tuesday. He told senators during his confirmation hearing that he wants to help individuals and families protect themselves by conveying “clear, science-based guidance” to the general public. Murthy has drawn opposition from gun rights advocates because of his longstanding assessment that mass shootings amount to a public health problem.

It's also spurring her and other Asian Americans to push for greater political influence in Washington and other power centers. President Joe Biden and his aides have been repeatedly pressed to include Asian Americans in his Cabinet. “I think symbolism and representation matters, but only up to a point,” said Aarti Kohli, executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice. “Those things all contribute to lower rates of political participation among Asian Americans, but people — mistakenly, I think — assume that Asian Americans are somehow less interested in U.S. civic life.”AdThat's evolving. “Asian Americans didn't necessarily grow up with that vocabulary of advocacy and how to fight for ourselves," Meng said.

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden’s Cabinet is nearly complete with the confirmation of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. A panel will also vote on advancing the nomination of Polly Ellen Trottenberg to be deputy secretary of transportation. And even as the Biden administration moves through picking nominees, there's no guarantee they'll all receive a smooth confirmation. And some of the deputies have become political footballs for Republicans looking to score concessions from the Biden administration. Cruz continues to hold up Biden’s nominee for deputy secretary of state, Wendy Sherman, until sanctions are imposed.

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden’s Cabinet is nearly complete with the confirmation of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh on Monday. A panel will also vote on advancing the nomination of Polly Ellen Trottenberg to be deputy secretary of Transportation. And even as the Biden administration moves through picking nominees, there's no guarantee they'll all receive a smooth confirmation. And some of the deputies have become political footballs for Republicans looking to score concessions from the Biden administration. Cruz continues to hold up Biden’s nominee for deputy secretary of State, Wendy Sherman, until sanctions are imposed.

Jennifer Granholm, D-Mich., testifies before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee during a hearing to examine her nomination to be Secretary of Energy, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. She tweeted her thanks to senators and said, "I’m obsessed with creating good-paying clean energy jobs in all corners of America in service of addressing our climate crisis. AdSen. Joe Manchin, chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Granholm has the leadership skills, vision and compassion needed at the Energy Department to “develop innovative solutions for the climate challenge'' while preserving jobs. “We can buy electric car batteries from Asia, or we can make them in America,” Granholm told senators. Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the top Republican on the Senate energy committee, said Biden “seems to want to pull the plug on American energy dominance.

He can send the White House into a tailspin with a single five-minute interview or three-sentence statement. With a 50-50 split in the Senate leaving little room for error on tough votes, other moderate Democrats like Sens. He received a call from the White House shortly after his complaint to try to smooth things over. AdThe White House shares those political concerns. Their significance to the final vote on the COVID-19 bill means some moderates are already getting extra attention from the White House.

In this Jan. 15, 2021 file photo, President-elect Joe Biden speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be his assistant secretary of health, leaving her poised to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. A pediatrician and former Pennsylvania physician general, Levine was appointed to her current post by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017, making her one of the few transgender people serving in elected or appointed positions nationwide. A transition spokesperson also said Tuesday that Dawn O’Connell will serve as senior counselor for coronavirus response to the health and human services secretary.

Johnson imposed a new, higher level of coronavirus restrictions to curb sharply spreading infections in the capital and other areas. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)Reports from Britain and South Africa of new coronavirus strains that seem to spread more easily are causing alarm, but virus experts say it’s unclear if that’s the case or whether they pose any concern for vaccines or cause more severe disease. New variants, or strains, of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been seen almost since it was first detected in China nearly a year ago. The one in the U.K. has the two changes and more, including eight to the spike protein, Gupta said. But vaccines may need fine-tuned over time as changes accumulate, and changes should be more closely monitored, he wrote.

Boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are moved to the loading dock for shipping at the McKesson distribution center in Olive Branch, Miss., Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. The essential workers include firefighters and police; teachers and school staff; those working in food, agricultural and manufacturing sectors; corrections workers; U.S. At least a dozen states reported they would receive a smaller second shipment of the Pfizer vaccine than they had been told previously. “And unless it’s perfectly right, we will not release vaccine doses for usage,” he said. “That is something that I have been assured of.”Both the Moderna vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech shot require two doses several weeks apart.

All Australian states have imposed restrictions on travelers from Sydney and parts of New South Wales because the coronavirus risk. The state on Sunday reported 1,536 new COVID-19 cases and 46 more deaths. ___TOPEKA, Kan. — A FedEx executive says a higher-than-normal volume of Christmas-season package deliveries won’t interfere with the company’s effort to ship coronavirus vaccine doses. The first wave of coronavirus infections in New York “came from Europe and we did nothing,” the Democratic governor said. ___WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s surgeon general is defending Trump’s not getting a coronavirus vaccine, saying there are medical reasons for it.

(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden's choices for his health care team point to a stronger federal role in the nation’s COVID-19 strategy, restoration of a guiding stress on science and an emphasis on equitable distribution of vaccines and treatments. “We are still going to have a federal, state and local partnership,” commented Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the nonprofit American Public Health Association. “These are not turf-conscious people,” said Drew Altman, CEO of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, a clearinghouse for health care information and analysis. A Secretary Becerra “can't get up every morning and think only COVID,” she said. That challenge faces widespread skepticism among minorities that the health care system has their best interests in mind.

(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden's choices for his health care team point to a stronger federal role in the nation’s COVID-19 strategy, restoration of a guiding stress on science and an emphasis on equitable distribution of vaccines and treatments. “We are still going to have a federal, state and local partnership,” commented Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the nonprofit American Public Health Association. “These are not turf-conscious people,” said Drew Altman, CEO of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, a clearinghouse for health care information and analysis. A Secretary Becerra “can't get up every morning and think only COVID,” she said. That challenge faces widespread skepticism among minorities that the health care system has their best interests in mind.

WASHINGTON – The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local):9:15 p.m.President Donald Trump is continuing his futile appeal to battleground state lawmakers to subvert the votes of their constituents. A person briefed on the matter said Trump pressed for the state’s legislature to replace the electors for President-elect Joe Biden with those loyal to Trump. Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., said Monday the group was specifically asking Biden’s team to elevate the nomination of Vivek Murthy for Surgeon General to a Cabinet-level position. He also tapped former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to serve in that post again. __9 a.m.President-elect Joe Biden is naming some of his most prominent allies to be the co-chairs for his upcoming inauguration.

Separately, Biden picked a Harvard infectious disease expert, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Biden also announced other top members of his health care team, though some posts remain unfilled. But overseeing the coronavirus response will be the most complicated task he has ever contemplated. The core components of HHS are the boots on the ground of the government’s coronavirus response. Early in California’s coronavirus response, Becerra defended broad shutdowns Gov.

WASHINGTON – Up soon for President-elect Joe Biden: naming his top health care officials as the coronavirus pandemic rages. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus made a fresh push during a virtual conference call Thursday for Biden to nominate Lujan Grisham as HHS secretary. Biden is expected to announce his choice for HHS secretary next week. In the running for a top health job is former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, co-chair of Biden's coronavirus task force. Alongside his health secretary, Biden is expected to name a top-level White House adviser to coordinate the government’s extensive coronavirus response.

Addressing racial disparities in the U.S. coronavirus crisis cannot be an afterthought, a top adviser to President-elect Joe Biden on the COVID-19 pandemic response said Tuesday. “We cannot get this pandemic under control if we do not address head-on the issues of inequity in our country," she said. The virus in the U.S. has killed more than 268,000 and caused more than 13.5 million confirmed infections. Gathering that information became easier last week when the federal government recognized Biden as the winner of the Nov. 3 election, she said. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education.

WASHINGTON – Joe Biden faces a decision unlike any other incoming president: whether to back a short-term national lockdown to finally arrest a raging pandemic. But the debate has been livelier among members of the coronavirus advisory board Biden announced this week. One member, Dr. Michael Osterholm, suggested a four- to six-week lockdown with financial aid for Americans whose livelihoods would be affected. That's a sign of the tough dynamic Biden will face when he is inaugurated in January. But Biden himself fueled some of the confusion about his stance on lockdowns during the campaign.

And just like the Trump administration, Biden is expected to aggressively wield the rule-making powers of the executive branch to address health insurance coverage and prescription drug costs. With COVID-19 surging across the country, Biden's top health care priority is whipping the federal government’s response into shape. “We’re going to work quickly with the Congress to dramatically ramp up health care protections, get Americans universal coverage, lower health care costs, as soon as humanly possible,” the president-elect said earlier this week. A factor that may work in Biden's favor is that many Republicans want to change the subject on health care. Coronavirus relief legislation could provide an early vehicle for some broader health care changes.

President-elect Joe Biden and Jill Biden, attend a service at the Philadelphia Korean War Memorial at Penn's Landing on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020, in Philadelphia. – President-elect Joe Biden quietly pushed forward with the business of preparing to become America's next commander in chief on Wednesday, ignoring President Donald Trump's unprecedented push to block his Democratic rival's transition. Biden continues to shrug off Trump's refusal to accept the election outcome, even as officials in both parties warn that the Republican president’s actions could be dangerous. The Republican president's allies on Capitol Hill, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have encouraged the president's accusations. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, among six world leaders overall, congratulated Biden on his election.

The delay has the potential to upend civic norms, impede Biden’s transition to the White House and sow doubt in the nation’s civic and election systems. Trump would need to produce ample evidence of impropriety to undo Biden’s lead, which appears unlikely. Trump and his GOP allies haven’t offered evidence of election fraud, and their legal challenges have largely been rejected by the courts. McConnell noted the potential turmoil during the transition in praising ousted Defense Secretary Mark Esper, whom Trump fired on Monday. The stakes are high for all sides, with strategists expecting an eye-popping $500 million could be spent in the weeks ahead.

President-elect Joe Biden listens during a meeting with his COVID-19 advisory council, Monday, Nov. 9, 2020, at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)WASHINGTON – The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local):9 p.m.International observers from the Organization of American States say they saw no instances of fraud or voting irregularities in the U.S. presidential election. Some Republicans are renewing their attacks on President-elect Joe Biden’s lead over President Donald Trump in Georgia, with Sens. Political appointees who are looking for job opportunities after President Donald Trump’s election defeat to President-elect Joe Biden should think twice. Carson is the first member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet known to have tested positive.

President-elect Joe Biden speaks Monday, Nov. 9, 2020, at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)If you need help with the Public File, call (313) 222-0566.

– President Donald Trump is facing pressure to cooperate with President-elect Joe Biden's team to ensure a smooth transfer of power when the new administration takes office in January. The General Services Administration is tasked with formally recognizing Biden as president-elect, which begins the transition. Biden was also launching agency review teams, groups of transition staffers that have access to key agencies in the current administration. They will collect and review information such as budgetary and staffing decisions, pending regulations and other work in progress from current Trump administration staff at the departments to help Biden’s team prepare to transition. Biden aides said the president-elect and transition team had been in touch with Republican lawmakers.

“We are still facing a dark winter.”He called on Americans to separate politics from the virus and embrace mask-wearing. Pfizer said Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine may be a remarkable 90% effective, based on early and incomplete test results. Vice President Mike Pence held a meeting of the White House coronavirus task force on Monday. A top Trump administration health official delivered much the same message as Biden, although the timing was coincidental and the occasion apolitical. The advisory board that Biden announced on Monday includes doctors and scientists who have served in previous administrations, many of them experts in public health, vaccines and infectious disease.

The White House in Washington, is seen early Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, the morning after incumbent President Donald Trump was defeated by his Democratic challenger, President-elect Joe Biden. That’s a necessary move to free up money for the transition and clear the way for Biden’s team to begin putting in place the transition process at agencies. Saying the field was full of good candidates, Clyburn said he “came to the conclusion that Joe Biden was our best bet.”___9 a.m.President-elect Joe Biden will launch an “agency review teams” this coming week. Biden’s campaign launched a transition team in May, and they’ve been working alongside designated staffers in President Donald Trump’s administration on transition planning for months. Biden’s transition team has also come out with a transition-focused website — BuildBackBetter.com — and is launching transition-focused social media accounts under the username “Transition46.”

– If Joe Biden wins next week's election, he says he'll immediately call Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease expert. The early days of a Biden administration would be consumed by a pandemic response. “I’m here to tell you we can and will get control of this virus,” Biden said Tuesday during a campaign stop in Georgia. Some Republican governors, including in states like North Dakota where virus cases are on the rise, refuse to implement mask requirements. At the start of the pandemic, Biden and other Democrats criticized Trump for not more quickly moving to use the Defense Production Act to step up national production of ventilators and other medical and protective equipment.