2022 -- H 8019

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LC005568

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

CONGRATULATING DR. ASHISH JHA ON BEING NAMED COVID-19 COORDINATOR

BY PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN AND THANKING HIM FOR PROVIDING HIS ERUDITION,

LEADERSHIP, AND CALMING REASSURANCES TO ALL RHODE ISLANDERS DURING

THE PANDEMIC

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Hull, Filippi, Fogarty,
Williams, J Lombardi, Kennedy, Ajello, and Cortvriend

     Date Introduced: March 22, 2022

     Referred To: House read and passed

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     WHEREAS, Dr. Ashish Jha, a globally recognized expert on pandemic preparedness and

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response as well as on health policy research and practice, and the Dean of the Brown University

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School of Public Health, has been named COVID-19 coordinator by President Joe Biden, and is

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tasked with implementing the National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan and managing the ongoing

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risks from COVID; and

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     WHEREAS, Dr. Ashish Jha was born in Pursaulia, Bihar, India. He moved to Canada

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and in 1983, relocated to the United States. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Columbia

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University, received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and trained as a resident in Internal

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Medicine at the University of California. After returning to Boston, he completed his fellowship

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in General Medicine from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and

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ultimately completed his Master of Public Health degree at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of

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Public Health; and

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     WHEREAS, In 2013, Dr. Jha was elected as a member of the National Academy of

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Medicine, and was later named K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan

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School of Public Health and Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI). In February

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of 2020, just days before the pandemic was declared, he was named Dean of Brown University's

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School of Public Health and has helped guide the University through the pandemic and Rhode

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Island’s vaccine rollout; and

 

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     WHEREAS, Dr. Jha is globally recognized as an expert on the pandemic in terms of

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preparedness and response, as well as health policy research and practice, and although almost 80

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percent of adults in the United States are fully vaccinated and over 100 million are boosted, the

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pandemic is not over and there is still much more work to be done; and

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     WHEREAS, Over the course of President Biden's term, Dr. Jha has had national

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exposure, participating in a number of Congressional hearings on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout

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and the global impact of the pandemic. In addition, he has advised the White House on the

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national COVID-19 preparedness plan, and there is no doubt that he is eminently worthy of his

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newly appointed title and our gratitude; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

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congratulates Dr. Ashish Jha on being named COVID-19 Coordinator for the Nation by President

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Joe Biden and thanks him for providing his erudition, leadership, and calming reassurances to all

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Rhode Islanders during the pandemic; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Dr. Ashish Jha.

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LC005568

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