Dr. Ashish Jha, will be the new face of the White House's COVID-19 response

Dr. Ashish Jha, will be the new face of the White House's COVID-19 response

Transcript¹

President Biden recently announced a new COVID plan to try to get things back to normal. Dr. Ashish Jha — a familiar face in the public health community — helped develop that plan.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

There's a big change coming to the White House team dealing² with COVID. Jeff Zients, who has been the COVID response coordinator³ since the start of the Biden administration, is leaving. Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown School of Public Health, will be the new face of the COVID response. NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith follows all of this very closely. Tamara, Dr. Jha's name, his face, his voice - probably very familiar to listeners. He's been on our air pretty much a lot of times in the last few years.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE⁴: Indeed.

MARTINEZ: What can you tell us about him?

KEITH: Yeah, so he's been a ubiquitous presence on cable TV and, yes, on our air, too, throughout the pandemic. And for a while now, he has been a proponent⁵ of using all available tools to help people return to the important things in life, like school and social interactions. I spoke⁶ to him last month for a story I was working on about the White House road map for the next phase of the pandemic, and he was one of many outside experts advising the Biden administration, and this is what he told me.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

ASHISH JHA: No one thinks that the virus is going away. None of us think that we'll never have another surge or another variant⁷. So what's the game plan so that we're not caught off guard?

KEITH: He is a clear communicator with a ready analogy, like with masks - he says to think of them like a raincoat. You use a raincoat when it's raining. You put it away when it isn't. So when there's a surge, he says people will need to wear high-quality masks. But when cases are low, as they are now, masks aren't necessary. And while he has been advising the White House, he has also been critical at times, for instance, of how the administration has communicated with the public about shifting guidance. In a statement announcing the move, President Biden described Jha as a wise and calming public presence, and we can expect to see a lot of him.

MARTINEZ: Back to Jeff Zients for a second.

KEITH: Yeah.

MARTINEZ: Why is he getting out now? And what did he do in 14 months?

KEITH: He is the guy who was brought in several years ago to fix healthcare.gov in the Obama administration. And with the pandemic response, he approached it like the management consultant⁸ he is. Zients and his team scaled up vaccinations⁹, making them widely available early in the administration. And more recently, after being caught a bit flat-footed by the omicron surge, they've gotten production of at-home rapid tests and anti-viral pills really moving along. A White House official tells me Zients had been trying to leave the job for a while now, but COVID kept throwing curveballs.

MARTINEZ: Now, the White House recently issued a road map for the next phase of the pandemic. What does that mean for Jha?

KEITH: It's essentially¹⁰ a road map for an uncertain future, and now Jha will be the one guiding the country through that uncertainty¹¹. That could mean another booster dose. It will almost certainly mean vaccinating¹² children under 5. And as Jha told me last month, there will inevitably¹³ be another variant. In fact, there's one circulating in Europe right now.

MARTINEZ: Ugh.

KEITH: One big challenge he may well face also is a lack of resources. The White House has asked Congress for $22.5 billion in emergency funds for COVID prevention and treatment. It's not clear that money is going to come through. And the administration is going to have to start scaling back programs next week.

MARTINEZ: One more thing really quick. The president's schedule, I heard, upended by COVID - what happened?

KEITH: Yeah, the prime minister of Ireland was at an event last night with President Biden and the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, when he found out he had tested positive for COVID. There was supposed to be a meeting at the White House today. Now it's going to be virtual. This is just the latest bit of evidence that COVID is most certainly not over. The second gentleman, Vice¹⁴ President Harris' husband, also tested positive earlier this week. Everyone is experiencing mild symptoms, and they're all vaccinated¹⁵.

MARTINEZ: NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith, thanks a lot.

KEITH: You're welcome.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 proponent   

n.建议者；支持者；adj.建议的

参考例句：

• Stapp became a strong early proponent of automobile seat belts.斯塔普是力主在汽车上采用座椅安全带的早期倡导者。
• Halsey was identified as a leading proponent of the values of progressive education.哈尔西被认为是进步教育价值观的主要支持者。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

8 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

9 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

12 vaccinating   

给…接种疫苗( vaccinate的现在分词 )； 注射疫苗，接种疫苗

参考例句：

• At first blush, vaccinating the wolves against rabies seems a simple solution. 乍一看来，为狼群注射防狂犬病疫苗是一种简单的办法。
• Also vaccinating children against misers (measles) has saved many lives. 还有，给儿童进行疫苗接种防止麻疹也挽救了许多生命。

13 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

14 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

15 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？