A change in administration in January will bring a new pandemic strategy for the United States. President-elect Joe Biden has announced his transition COVID-19 advisory council, and there are high expectations that its recommendations to combat the pandemic will be backed by science and reflect public health best practices.

As an infectious disease epidemiologist, I’m looking forward to research-based guidance at the federal level that I hope will help get the coronavirus under control.

The United States is now experiencing a major increase in COVID-19 cases, with more than 1 million new cases logged in just the first 10 days of November. More than 240,000 people with COVID-19 have died in the U.S. to date. The Trump administration’s tactics of pretending this upsurge is not happening, dismissing the benefits of mask-wearing and physical distancing, and blaming increases in case counts on increased testing are not viable methods to control the pandemic.

The United States has 4.4% of the world’s population and 20% of the COVID-19 cases. Clearly, the U.S. has not done an adequate job of controlling the pandemic within its shores. A change in administration and coronavirus-fighting strategy will hopefully help the U.S. change course.

Read the full article about Joe Biden's public health task force by Catherine Lynne Triosi at YES! Magazine.