Inside STAT: A coronavirus 'czar?' Trump goes the other way: a 12-member committee

HHS SECRETARY ALEX AZAR AT A NEWS CONFERENCE ABOUT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE TO THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK. (PATRICK SEMANSKY/AP PHOTO)

President Obama had an Ebola czar. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush had czars overseeing the response to AIDS. Contrary to designating one for the new coronavirus, President Trump has appointed a 12-man committee, one that includes HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CDC Director Robert Redfield, but also White House advisers including national security adviser Robert O’Brien and domestic policy council director Joseph Grogan. There hasn't yet been sustained human-to-human transmission in the U.S., and so some say Trump may not yet need an overseer. But others disagree. “Such a coordinator is necessary to manage an ‘all of government’ response, hold agencies accountable for their deliverables, and make sure a comprehensive funding package is being advanced on Capitol Hill,” says Ronald Klein, Obama’s Ebola czar. STAT contributor Maggie Fox has more here.