Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden Narrows Field For His Health Agency Picks
Bloomberg: Biden Closes In On Top Health Leaders As Pandemic Ravages U.S.
President-elect Joe Biden’s front-runner for secretary of Health and Human Services is New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, and he may announce several of his administration’s health leaders as soon as next week, according to people familiar with the matter. The position of HHS secretary is down to two possibilities, the people said, between Lujan Grisham and former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, a co-chair of the coronavirus advisory board Biden appointed shortly after he was elected. (Wingrove, Stein and Ruoff, 12/2)
CNN: Hispanic Lawmakers Urge Biden To Pick Lujan Grisham For HHS
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have sent a letter to President-elect Joe Biden's transition team lobbying for New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to be nominated for the role of health and human services secretary. The letter, signed by 32 members of Congress, including Hispanic Caucus Chairman Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat, commends Biden for selecting Cuban-born Alejandro Mayorkas, the first Latino and first immigrant to be nominated for Homeland Security secretary, calling it a "good start" for Latino representation. (Mucha, Fox and Rogers, 12/2)
Also —
AP: Biden Adviser Says Race Central To Virus Fight
Addressing racial disparities in the U.S. coronavirus crisis cannot be an afterthought, a top adviser to President-elect Joe Biden on the COVID-19 pandemic response said Tuesday. That means when testing and vaccination programs are designed and implemented, for example, they must consider fairness and equity along with efficiency in order to be truly effective, said Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, an expert on health care inequality at Yale University, in an interview with The Associated Press. (Johnson, 12/2)
The New York Times: Biden Shows Off A New Accessory: A Walking Boot
The president-elect of the United States clomped across a flag-studded stage on Tuesday, intending to introduce the economic team that, he hopes, will steer the nation through turmoil. In the process, he introduced the country to a less welcome companion: his walking boot. (Glueck, 12/1)
