Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith serves as chair of the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. Photo: Dan Renzetti / Yale University
The COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force will hold a virtual meeting on February 26, 2021, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Note: times are tentative and subject to change.
This meeting is open to the public. Pre-registration is encouraged for members of the public who wish to attend the meeting and who wish to participate in the public comment session.
To register, please send an email with your name, affiliation and email to: COVID19HETF@hhs.gov.
The confirmed time and agenda will be posted prior to the meeting.
The COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force the (Task Force) was established by Executive Order 13995, Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery, which was issued on January 21, 2021. The Task Force is part of the government-wide effort to identify and eliminate health and social disparities that result in disproportionately higher rates of exposure, illness, hospitalization and death related to COVID-19.
The Task Force’s mission is to provide specific recommendations to the President of the United States for mitigating inequities caused or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and for preventing such inequities in the future.
On February 10, 2021, President Biden and Vice President Harris announced 12 individuals to serve as non-federal members of the Biden-Harris COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. The Task Force members represent a diversity of backgrounds and expertise, a range of racial and ethnic groups, and a number of important populations, including: children and youth; educators and students; health care providers, immigrants; individuals with disabilities; LGBTQ+ individuals; public health experts; rural communities; state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments; and unions.
The Task Force is chaired by Marcella Nunez-Smith MD. Dr. Nunez-Smith has also asked six additional Federal agencies to be represented on the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force as federal members. This includes the United States Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice, and Department of Labor.
Executive Order 13995: Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery
Fact Sheet: President Biden to Take Action to Advance Racial Equity and Support Underserved Communities
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