Meet the new Dr Fauci: Biden names surgeon general fired by Trump to lead his Covid taskforce

President-elect Joe Biden has picked the surgeon general who was fired after President Trump assumed office to be the head of his new Covid-19 taskforce.

Vivek Murthy has been named as co-chair alongside the former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner David Kessler to lead the 12 member taskforce, Mr Biden’s deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

The pair have both already been “advising [Biden] and our campaign since this virus emerged back in March,” Ms Bedingfield said.

Yale University’s Dr Marcella Nunez-Smith is also set to join the taskforce, according to a CNN report.

Speaking about the speed of the appointments, Ms Bedingfield said of Mr Biden: “He’s going to begin transition work in earnest this week. He’ll be making calls, he’ll be making announcements to the American people, on how he’s going to make good on these campaign promises.”

Mr Biden gave his first speech as president-elect on Saturday night, and said the full names of the taskforce would be revealed at the start of the week.

“On Monday, I will name a group of leading scientists and experts as transition advisers to help take the Biden-Harris Covid plan and convert it into an action blueprint that will start on 20 January. The plan will be built on bedrock science,’’ he said.

Born to Indian immigrant parents in the UK, Mr Murthy was chosen as the 19th surgeon general of the US under the Obama administration, and served from 2014 until President Trump asked him to resign in April 2017.

He has been open in his criticism of Mr Trump’s policies since, including his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. In an interview with the Washington Post on 30 September, the former top surgeon  expressed concerns over the “politicisation” of the Covid-19 vaccine by the Trump administration.

When asked what his advice would be to President Trump, he said: “I would tell them to let science guide the way for the authorisation of the Covid-19 vaccine. I would tell them to put politics out of the issues of authorisations and guidelines. Their communication should be crystal clear that the people driving the process are scientists from the FDA. They should also ensure transparency in data and details of the vaccine to ensure the right kind of evaluation.”

Mr Murthy also spoke out in support of the current head of the coronavirus task force, Dr Anthony Fauci, who has been on target of Donald Trump. During one of his final campaign rallies in Florida, President Trump hinted at firing Dr Fauci from his post if he won the election, amid chanting of “Fire Fauci, Fire Fauci” from his supporters.