Indian-American physician Vivek Murthy, US President Joe Biden’s choice for US Surgeon General, said that the deadly COVID-19 is going to “continue to change” and the country has to be ready for it, calling for improved genomic surveillance and more investment in touch tracing to deal with the crisis.
Dr Murthy, 43, who is playing a key role in shaping the COVID-19 policy of the Biden administration, said there is also a need to invest a lot more in testing and contact tracing, since these are also going to be important.
“The virus is basically telling us that it’s going to continue to change, and we have got to be ready for it. It means we have got to, number one, do much better genomic surveillance, so we can identify variants when they arise. It means we have got to double down on public health measures, like masking and avoiding indoor gatherings,” Dr. Murthy told ABX News this week.
“It also means investing more in something we haven’t talked about very much recently, which is in treatment strategies, which have received a lot less attention than vaccines, but are really important,” said Dr Murthy, who served as Surgeon General of the US during the Obama administration and had to leave abruptly when Donald Trump became the US President.
He also shared concern about virus variants.
In response to a question, he said, “We are in a race against these variants. The virus is going to change. And it’s up to us to adapt and to make sure that we’re staying ahead,”
“But they are not surprising, because this is what viruses do. They mutate, they change. And we should expect them. But here’s what we know. We know that the variant, not just the UK variant, but likely the South Africa variant, the Brazilian variant, P.1, are likely to be more transmissible,”he said.
“Although some early data were recorded earlier this week that the UK variant may actually be more deadly, we still need more details to better understand the answer to that query,” Dr Murthy said.
The US is the nation most affected by the virus. More than 400,000 Americans have been killed in the past year.
In the first 100 days of his presidency, Biden set an ambitious target of 100 million COVID-19 vaccinations.
“The goal of achieving 100 million shots in 100 days is one that is achievable with the supply that we have and that we’re anticipating from Pfizer and from Moderna. And that’s what we have got to focus on. So, we hope for the best, but we have got a plan for the situation we have now,” Dr Murthy said.
According to him, the goal of 100 million is a floor, not a ceiling. “He’s (Joe Biden) set a goal of 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office. That’s a floor; it’s not a ceiling. It’s also a goal that reflects the realities of what we face, what could go right but also what could go wrong,” he said.
“President Biden fully understands there’s a larger goal here, as we all do, which is that we’ve got to vaccinate as many Americans as possible. And that’s going to take a lot of work, work dispelling this disinformation, working on the supply, increasing distribution channels. That’s some of what the vaccine plan that he announced over the last week is intended to achieve,” Dr Murthy said.
