Fauci to meet with Biden team for first time Thursday

The nation’s top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci on Thursday said he is set to virtually meet with President-elect Joe Biden’s team later in the day. 

“I’m going to be meeting with them today, by Zoom, by virtually. So today will be the first day where there will be substantive discussions about the transition between me and the Biden team,” Fauci told CBS News’s Major Garrett on The Takeout podcast. “I’m very pleased that today we’re having the first discussion about a number of things, vaccinations and things like that.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci tells @MajorCBS he’s staying at @NIH and has spoken with incoming White House chief of staff @RonaldKlain. Today, he’ll meet with the @JoeBiden landing team via Zoom. pic.twitter.com/AYTUF7ZnEQ

— The Takeout w/ Major Garrett (@TakeoutPodcast) December 3, 2020

Biden and Fauci have not spoken directly. The doctor, however, said he has had conversations with Biden’s incoming chief of staff Ron Klain, but added the conversations were not “substantive.” 

Fauci told Garrett that he wished the presidential transition process had happened sooner. 

“I would have liked to have seen us getting involved with the team as early as we possibly can because we want the smooth transition to occur,” he said. “Everyone believes that a smooth transition is certainly better than no transition.”

Fauci’s meeting with Biden’s team comes as public health officials, including Fauci, warn that coronavirus cases are likely to spike even more during the holiday season. 

But there could be a light at the end of the tunnel. The United Kingdom approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use earlier this week, becoming the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine.

The first vaccines for the virus are expected to receive emergency use authorization in the U.S. this month. Officials have said the first doses will go to front-line health care workers and at-risk populations.