WASHINGTON (Reuters] – White House COVID coordinator Jeff Zients is stepping down next month. He will be succeeded by a public health specialist

Dr. Ashish Jha was the U.S. President Joe Biden’s spokesperson on Thursday.

Jha is an internist at Brown University School of Public Health. He also serves as a TV commentator. This new stage of the pandemic begins two years after the original coronavirus swept the country.

Biden stated that Americans are returning to safer routines using new effective tools to help reduce the number of severe cases of COVID and to make schools and workplaces more secure. But, our efforts to combat COVID are far from over.

Jha is “the perfect person” for fighting COVID as “we enter a new period in the pandemic,” said he.

After a January peak during the Omicron wave, new COVID-19 U.S. cases fell to an average seven-day of 35.412 after a low in January. Hospitalizations, deaths and other complications have declined. All 50 states in the United States have removed any restrictions related to pandemics such as wearing masks while officials promote vaccines.

However, public health officials are concerned that there could be another increase in US cases. They also warn of the potential for a new outbreak as the virus evolves.

The Biden Administration is pushing for more federal funding in order to boost the nation’s preparedness for pandemics.

White House sought $22.5 million. The White House had requested $22.5 billion. Congress responded with $15 billion. However, the bigger government funding bill was eventually repealed by Congress this week. Lawmakers said they would continue to address the matter separately.