White House COVID czar Ashish Jha stepping down

The White House and the university announced Thursday that Ashish Ja, the White House’s COVID-19 response coordinator, will resign on June 15 and return to his former position as dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. Announced.

Jah’s resignation comes about a month after the administration recognized the three-year COVID-19 public health emergency as expiring on May 11.

“Last year, as the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, I turned to Dr. Ashish Jah to help me do just that. “He has effectively translated a scientific challenge into concrete action that has helped save or improve the lives of millions of Americans,” he said in a statement.

Jah was brought in 18 months ago to replace Jeffrey Zientz, who later became Mr. Biden’s chief of staff.

Jah made a name for himself as a dispassionate public health communicator during the early stages of COVID-19, and the White House at the time said he was invited to help with the post-pandemic emergency response.

At the time, the administration was trying to deal with the new outbreak of Omicron Mutants and formulate a strategy for additional infections.

Hospitalizations are now down to their lowest level since the early days of the pandemic. Hospitalizations dropped to about 7,600 in the week ending May 27, and deaths dropped to 208 in the week ending May 27, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The White House coronavirus response team was formed in 2020 to guide the administration in the early stages of the pandemic. Jah’s role will be taken over by the newly formed Pandemic Preparedness and Response Office, which currently has no leader or staff.

Administration officials said they were still working out the details and would set up a secretariat as required by law.

In an interview with The Hill in May, Jah said the lifting of the state of emergency did not mean the administration no longer needed to worry about COVID-19. claimed no.

“This is a transition period, a transition period to a period where we can manage this virus in a non-destructive way,” Jah said.

He also stressed that despite the vacancies, the administration is “absolutely not finished” in its fight against COVID-19.

“During the transition period, it is common to see people working day and night for months on end. [depart]. However, we are absolutely committed to continuing the fight against COVID-19 and continuing to fight future pandemics. ”