Coronavirus Crisis Update: Luciana Borio – “It’s Gonna Be Hard.”

Dr. Luciana Borio, a member of President-elect Biden’s Covid-19 Advisory Group and the transition team, scanned the horizon. On the development of Covid-19 vaccines: “All in all, this has been a spectacular success.” Special tribute goes to the FDA career staff, the “heroes” who charted the path forward. Now most worrying: ensuring large scale manufacturing of the MRNA vaccines, and fixing logistics - “the gaping hole” created by a wholesale lack of planning. Vaccine hesitancy, equity, and the ”extraordinary” complexity of delivery all demand high attention. “We don’t have visibility” into the new variants of the virus, due to inadequate genomic surveillance. Development of therapies was hindered by “a lot of noise” surrounding hydroxychloroquine and convalescent plasma: a more rigorous, less political approach will deliver better results. In the next year, while “it’s gonna be hard,” there is “no better team” than the one assembled to begin work on January 20. 

Dr. Luciana Borio is a member of President-elect Biden’s Covid-19 Advisory group and the transition team. She is a Vice President at In-Q-Tel in Washington, DC. She previously served as Director for Medical and Biodefense Preparedness at the National Security Council under both Presidents Obama and Trump.