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Dr Ashish Jha, White House's new Covid response coordinator, says 'honoured' to have the opportunity
Jha, an Indian-American who was born in Bihar's Madhubani in December 1970, will succeed the outgoing Jeff Zients, who will vacate the post in April.
Dr Ashish K Jha, the Indian-American physician appointed by US President Joe Biden as the White House's new Covid-19 response coordinator, said he is ‘honoured’ to be given the opportunity, as he described the United States as a nation 'willing to embrace me as one of her own.’
"So, as they say…Some news. For all the progress we've made in this pandemic(and there is a lot). We still have important work to do to protect Americans’ lives and well-being. So, when @POTUS asked me to serve, I was honoured to have the opportunity,” Dr Jha said on Twitter.
“This President has spoken the truth about this virus. Has prioritised policies based on science and evidence. Americans are going back to work and school. And it is an honour to work under his leadership. One focused on the health and well-being of the American people,” he said in a subsequent post.
Dr Jha, who serves as the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, also lauded the ‘superb’ leadership of his soon-to-be predecessor in the White House, Jeff Zients, who, along with his deputy Natalie Quillian, will leave the Biden administration next month.
The 51-year-old, who was born in Madhubani, Bihar, then shared a ‘personal note.’ He posted: “For a poor immigrant kid who left India not speaking a word of English. And found in America a nation willing to embrace me as one of her own. I am deeply honoured for this chance to serve this country I leave. And grateful to a President for the opportunity.”
Earlier, announcing Dr Jha's appointment, President Biden described him as the ‘perfect person for the job.’ The Democrat also praised Zients for what the former described as a ‘stunning’ and ‘consequential’ progress against the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the Johns Hopkins University Covid-19 dashboard, the United States has recorded 79,631,765 confirmed cases of the viral illness thus far, of which 968,331 resulted in death. The country has the highest number of cases in the world on both fronts.
(With agency inputs)
