President Biden lauds work of Covid Czar Dr. Ashish Jha, for helping save “millions of Americans”

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Dr. Ashish Jha, who has handled Covid-19 issues over the last year after being appointed by President Biden, is returning to his previous post as dean of Brown University School of Public Health. Jha rejoins his old position July 1.

Jha, who leaves the White House June 15, got a laudatory send-off from President Biden who issued a statement recognizing Jha’s contributions.

Following is President Biden’s statement June 8, 2023:
When I took office, our nation was facing a once-in-a generation pandemic, hit with a virus that changed everything. Thanks to my Administration’s whole-of-government approach, we now have the tools to manage COVID-19 and the virus no longer controls our daily lives.
 
For the last year, I have relied on Dr. Ashish Jha to help me do just that as the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator. As one of the leading public health experts in America, he has effectively translated and communicated complex scientific challenges into concrete actions that helped save and improve the lives of millions of Americans.
 
I extend my deepest thanks to Ashish and his family. We are a stronger and healthier nation because of his contributions to public service.

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Dr. Jha, 53, born in Pursaulia, Bihar, is a practicing physician recognized globally as an expert on pandemic preparedness and response as well as on health policy research and practice, notes his biography on the Brown University website.

He has been on the front-lines of the COVID-19 response, leading national and international analysis of key issues and advising state and federal policy makers.

He joined Brown after leading the Harvard Global Health Institute and teaching at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Jha has published more than two hundred original research publications in prestigious journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and the BMJ, and has extensively researched how to improve the quality and reduce the cost of health care, focusing on the impact of public health policy nationally and around the globe, the Brown biography says.

Dr. Jha was just 9 when his family moved to Toronto, Canada in 1979,  and then to the United States in 1983. In 1992, According to the Brown U bio, he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Columbia University with a B.A. in economics. He received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1997 and then trained as a resident in Internal Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. He returned to Boston to complete his fellowship in General Medicine from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. In 2004, he completed his Master of Public Health degree at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2013.