Doctors urge Trump to ‘save countless lives’ and work with Biden’s team on COVID-19
Top medical groups are urging President Donald Trump to share vital COVID-19 information with President-elect Joe Biden as concerns mount over Trump’s refusal to move forward with a transfer of power.
The American Hospital Association, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association on Tuesday sent an open letter to the president urging him to share “all critical information related to COVID-19” with Biden’s transition team.
“Real-time data and information on the supply of therapeutics, testing supplies, personal protective equipment, ventilators, hospital bed capacity and workforce availability to plan for further deployment of the nation’s assets needs to be shared to save countless lives,” the letter says.
The groups pushed Trump to share plans for therapeutics and vaccine distribution with Biden’s team so “there is no lapse in our ability to care for patients.”
They also cited “the suffering” the pandemic has caused — saying it underscores the importance of cooperation between the Trump administration and the incoming president.
“We see families who have lost both parents from COVID- 19; we see children suffering from long-term effects due to a COVID-19 infection; and we see minority populations disproportionately suffering from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the letter says. “It is from this front line human perspective that we urge you to share critical data and information as soon as possible.”
Stalled transition
The open letter comes as Trump’s administration has stonewalled the transfer of power process since Biden was projected the winner of the presidential election by major media outlets on Nov. 7.
Biden has won 290 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 232, according to The Associated Press, with Georgia yet to be called. Biden’s transition team has started preparing for him to take office on Jan. 20, 2021 — last week naming a coronavirus advisory board and this week naming key senior staff roles.
But Emily Murphy, the Trump-appointed head of the General Services Administration, has yet to formally recognize Biden as the president-elect.
Without her formal recognition, a process called ascertainment, Biden’s team doesn’t have access to important information — including on national security and the coronavirus pandemic — which is usually granted to the president-elect.
More than more than 11.3 million COVID-19 cases and more than 249,000 deaths have been reported in the United States as of Nov. 18, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Concerns over the delay
Tuesday’s letter echoes concerns others have expressed about the delayed transition of power.
Biden warned Monday that “more people may die” without a smooth transfer of power and coordination with the Trump administration on a coronavirus vaccine distribution plan.
“If we have to wait until January 20 to start that planning, it puts us behind over a month and a half,” he said while delivering remarks in Wilmington, Delaware. “So it’s important that there be coordination now — now or as rapidly as we can get that done.”
His remarks came hours after drugmaker Moderna announced that an early analysis showed its coronavirus vaccine candidate is 94.5% effective. Pfizer said Wednesday its candidate is 95% effective.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, has also emphasized the importance of smooth transition for fighting the pandemic, saying on NBC’s “TODAY” Monday that “the virus is not going to stop and call a time out while things change.”
Biden’s transition team has been barred from meeting with Fauci or other government officials, Ron Klain, Biden’s White House chief of staff, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday while expressing his concerns about the stalled transition.
“Joe Biden’s going to become president of the United States in the midst of an ongoing crisis,” Klain, who headed the Ebola virus response during former President Barack Obama’s administration, said. ”That has to be a seamless transition.”
The president has faced increasing pressure — including from members of his own party — to allow Biden’s team access to the information it needs.
A “small” group of Congressional Republicans last week also urged Trump to move forward with the power transfer.
“It’s absolutely imperative for public health that all of the planning that’s gone on, for which the current administration deserves credit, be shared with the new administration,” Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, said, according to The Associated Press.
Fox News host Brian Kilmeade said Wednesday on “Fox & Friends” — a show frequented by Trump — that it’s “in the country’s best interest” for Trump to coordinate with Biden on national security and the virus.
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 9:52 AM with the headline "Doctors urge Trump to ‘save countless lives’ and work with Biden’s team on COVID-19."
