Transition Stonewall Imperils Vaccine And COVID Prep, Biden Advisers Warn

NPR: Biden's COVID-19 Advisers Plead For 'Ascertainment' So They Can Plan For January
President-elect Joe Biden's advisers on the coronavirus pandemic urged the Trump administration on Tuesday to take the formal step that will allow them to tap into data on the pandemic and have conversations with people inside the administration who can tell them what the federal government already has in the works in their COVID-19 response. They said it is urgent that the General Services Administration formally "ascertain" the winner of the presidential election so that they can learn more about plans for vaccine distribution. They told reporters they don't have access to the government's real-time data on the pandemic and its spread. (Keither, 11/17)

Politico: Biden Covid Advisers Say Transition Delay Hurts Pandemic Prep Beyond Vaccines 
The leaders of President-elect Joe Biden’s coronavirus advisory board said Tuesday the Trump administration’s continued refusal to allow the transition to move forward is hurting their preparedness planning on multiple fronts, from addressing mask shortages to recommending targeted closures in hot spots and laying the groundwork to distribute prospective vaccines. The transition team is unable to consult with federal health officials or access real-time data on available hospital beds, the status of the National Strategic Stockpile and therapeutics, among other things. For now, they said that's forcing them to rely on piecemeal data from state and local officials and public sources like the Covid Tracking Project. (Miranda Ollstein, 11/17)

Reuters: Biden COVID-19 Task Force Says Transition Delay Could Be Compromising U.S. Virus Response
Medical experts advising President-elect Joe Biden on the COVID-19 pandemic fear that the federal government’s delay in recognizing Biden’s election victory could be compromising the U.S. response to the virus, the experts said on Tuesday. Dr. Vivek Murthy, co-chair of Biden’s COVID-19 task force, said the experts had not been able to speak to current administration officials dealing with the virus, even as the United States is hit by a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. (Lewis, 11/17)

Boston Globe: ‘What’s The Game Plan?’: Biden Team Locked Out Of Key Vaccine Information As COVID Rages
The incoming Biden administration has been blocked from coordinating with the federal government’s civil servants who are planning a massive vaccination campaign, forcing the president-elect’s team to meet with local health leaders and pharmaceutical companies to piece together information in an attempt to get around President Trump’s obstruction. The delay caused by Trump’s continued false insistence he won the election is putting lives at risk, President-elect Joe Biden declared this week. (Goodwin, 11/17)

AP: Biden's DIY Transition Proceeds Without Trump Assistance
President Donald Trump’s refusal to cooperate with his successor is forcing President-elect Joe Biden to seek unusual workarounds to prepare for the exploding public health threat and evolving national security challenges he will inherit in just nine weeks. Blocked from the official intelligence briefing traditionally afforded to incoming presidents, Biden gathered virtually on Tuesday with a collection of intelligence, defense and diplomatic experts. None of the experts is currently affiliated with the U.S. government, raising questions about whether Biden is being provided the most up-to-date information about dangers facing the nation. (Peoples, Riechmann and Miller, 11/18)

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The Hill: Leading Hospital, Doctor Associations Call On Trump To Share COVID-19 Information With Biden 
The country’s top associations representing hospitals, doctors and nurses are calling on the Trump administration to share information on its coronavirus response with President-elect Joe Biden's team “so that there is no lapse in our ability to care for patients. ”The American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, and American Nurses Association wrote in a letter to President Trump on Tuesday that cooperation on the coronavirus response with Biden transition officials is crucial. (Sullivan, 11/17)

Reuters: U.S. Medical Leaders Rebuke Trump, Urge COVID-19 Cooperation With Biden Team 
The U.S. medical establishment on Tuesday urged President Donald Trump to share critical COVID-19 data with President-elect Joe Biden’s team to avoid needless, deadly lags in tackling a raging pandemic that is threatening to overwhelm hospitals nationwide. The extraordinary rebuke, weighing in on the White House post-election transition fray, came in an open letter from three leading healthcare organizations as state and local governments scrambled to fight the virus in the absence of a coordinated national strategy. (Borter and Gorman, 11/17)

Reuters: Biden To Focus On Coronavirus As Trump Pushes To Overturn Election 
President-elect Joe Biden will meet with healthcare workers on the front lines of the raging coronavirus health crisis in a virtual event on Wednesday, while President Donald Trump faces further legal hurdles to overturn his election loss. Biden has pledged to make the pandemic, which has killed more than 247,000 people in the United States and cost millions their jobs, a top priority when he takes office on Jan. 20. (Hunnicutt and Whitesides, 11/18)