U.S. COVID chief Zients to be replaced by Brown University health expert Jha

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday named public health expert Dr. Ashish Jha to replace White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients, who will leave his post next month, as the administration prepares for new COVID-19 variants and infection surges that could hit the country. Jha, a highly respected internist who leads the Brown University School of Public Health, takes on the role as the United States shifts to a new phase of the pandemic two years after the coronavirus upended the nation, the White House said. 'Americans are safely moving back to more normal routines, using the effective new tools we have to enable us to reduce severe COVID cases and make workplaces and schools safer,' Biden said in a statement. 'But our work in combating COVID is far from done