President-elect Joe Biden declared tackling the pandemic "one of the most important battles our administration will face" as he announced a new 12-member Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board on Monday.
Why it matters: The U.S. has reported over 100,000 new coronavirus cases every day since last Wednesday, when it first reached the milestone. The seven-day average of deaths from the virus reported by states has risen 36% in the past three weeks, per the COVID Tracking Project.
The big picture: COVID-19 is one of four key issues Biden has pledged to tackle on day one of his administration. The others are economic recovery, racial equity and climate change.
The task force will be led by three co-chairs: former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith from Yale University — as Axios' Hans Nichols first reported Saturday. Beth Cameron, who served as senior director for global health security and biodefense in the Obama administration, and Rebecca Katz, co-director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University, are advisors to the Transition on COVID-19 and will work closely with the advisory board.
