President-elect Joe Biden announced members of his Covid-19 task force, who will be in charge of forming a plan on how to deal with the current pandemic once he takes office in January. This is especially important due to coronavirus numbers reaching all-time highs in the U.S. recently.

Biden first expressed his thoughts on the seriousness of COVID and his approach to it.

“Dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is one of the most important battles our administration wil face, and I will be informed by science and by experts,” Biden said in his announcement.

Biden said that this board will advise him in what steps and precautions he should take in handling the virus.

“The advisory board will help shape my approach to managing the surge in reported infections; ensuring vaccines are safe, effective, and distributed efficiently, equitable and free; and protecting at-risk populations,” Biden stated last Monday.

The task force will be co-chaired by former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith of Yale University. Another notable member of the board is former head of vaccine-development agency BARDA, Rick Bright, which was ousted by the Trump Administration last April.

Americans and the media are also pleasantly surprised at the diversity in the task force. Five of the 13 members are women, while nine of them are Black, Latinx, Asian, or another underrepresented minority.

In an article published by The Conversation, they described the benefits of having this diversity in the task force.

“This gender and racial/ethnic diversity will likely result in better decision-making and lend greater credence to the task force’s decisions and recommendations,” the article stated.