Biden's Covid czar Ashish Jha to step down as White House Coordinator

Ashish Jha, the United States White House's point person for the nation's COVID-19 response will, as per reports, resign from his post next week.

Quoting the White House, the news agency AP reports that Jha will return to serving as the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. He will reportedly depart from the post on June 15th and will go back to being the dean from July 1st.

Why is Ashish Jha leaving the post?

Jha's departure from the post of White House COVID-19 coordinator comes as the US federal government ended its twin virus emergencies on the coronavirus earlier this spring.

Announcing Jha's departure, US President Joe Biden in a statement said that Covid "no longer controls our daily lives."

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He further said that "as one of the leading public health experts in America, he has effectively translated and communicated complex scientific challenges into concrete actions that helped save and improve the lives of millions of Americans."

"I extend my deepest thanks to Ashish and his family. We are a stronger and healthier nation because of his contributions to public service," he added.

Biden's Covid czars

President Biden's first COVID-19 czar was Jeff Zients, who is now the White House chief of staff.

Ashish Jha will be the last of his administration's rotating COVID response coordinators, reports Reuters.

Who will be the point person for the White House's Covid response after Jha?

As per the Wall Street Journal, after the removal of the COVID response coordinator post, the director of the White House's nascent Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy will advise the president and coordinate federal responses to various biological and pandemic threats. However, who will take the job is yet to be announced.

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Talking to the newspaper on Thursday, Jha said, "We've now had a sustained period of time with low deaths and hospitalizations. Excess mortality has been down to zero in the past couple of months. As for the impact of COVID on our lives now, we have made a lot of progress."

US and the Covid public health emergency

The US government ended its COVID Public Health Emergency in May. This allowed millions of Americans to receive vaccines, tests and treatments at no cost. 

Following the end of the Public Health Emergency, it was expected that the White House will cut down its COVID response team. 

(With inputs from agencies)

 

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