US President-elect Joe Biden unveiled his health team on Monday, as he named Xavier Becerra as Secretary of Health and Human Services, besides naming Indian-American Vivek Murthy as his Surgeon General, reported PTI.

Joe Biden-Kamala Harris has already named Dr Anthony Fauci, America’s top immunologist, as the Chief Medical Adviser to the President on COVID-19. Dr Rochelle Walensky was named the Director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, while Dr Marcella Nunez-Smith was appointed as COVID-19 Equity Task Force Chair.

Jeff Zients was also appointed by the administration to serve as Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response and Counselor to the President.

While unveiling his health team Biden said, This trusted and accomplished team of leaders will bring the highest level of integrity, scientific rigor, and crisis-management experience to one of the toughest challenges America has ever faced – getting the pandemic under control so that the American people can get back to work, back to their lives, and back to their loved ones.”

The 78-year-old Democratic President further added that the team of world-class medical experts and public servants will be ready from day one to mobilise every resource of the federal government to expand testing and also on establishing a nationwide mask mandate. He added that the appointed team of health experts would also devise a safe, equitable plan for the free distribution of treatments and vaccines while arranging a plan to reopen schools and businesses safely.

The team would also lower the price of prescription drugs and other associated health costs and also expand affordable healthcare.

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Vice President-elect Kamala Harris also stated, “Containing this coronavirus pandemic and opening our economy responsibly requires listening to experts and leaders like the ones we are bringing together on this health care team.”

The 56-year old added, the selected group represented some of America’s best physicians, public health experts and crisis-tested public servants.

Harris said that the team appointed by the Biden-Harris administration was one that the country desperately needed and deserved to make quality, affordable, healthcare available to all while making sure that people receive safe and effective vaccines.

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Xavier Becerra, who was appointed for the post of Secretary of Health and Human Services, is currently the Attorney General of California, who helped pass the Affordable Care Act.

Dr Murthy, nominated for the role of Surgeon General, is a distinguished physician who is also a research scientist and a former Vice Admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.