Statement attributable to:
Jacqueline W. Fincher, MD, MACP
President, American College of Physicians
Washington, DC (November 16, 2020) — As the country moves into colder weather and the holiday season, we face exponentially increasing COVID-19 infections, shortages of beds and hospital staff, and deaths. The federal government’s work to help bring under control the COVID-19 pandemic is critical and complicated. We need effective national-scale efforts to promote effective public health measures to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection, ensure effective distribution of vaccines when available, get personal protective equipment to all front-line health care workers, and such other steps as needed.
The American College of Physicians calls on President Trump and General Services Administrator Emily W. Murphy to immediately make available the resources, planning and consultation available under the Presidential Transition Act to President-elect Biden and his transition team. The new administration’s public health experts must be prepared to manage this deadly pandemic, through an effective and seamless transition with President Trump and his administration, with the shared goal of saving lives. It will take careful planning and preparation to employ all of the different tactics that are needed to manage the U.S. response to COVID-19. Every day of delay in formalizing the start of the transition process is a day of work that is lost on helping to heal our country and our patients, and a day lost to preventing additional infections, illnesses, and deaths.
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About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 163,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Contact: Jackie Blaser, (202) 261-4572, jblaser@acponline.org