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Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus response, said Tuesday she plans to retire, but is willing to first help President-elect Joe Biden’s team with its coronavirus response as needed. Birx, in an interview with the news site Newsy, did not give a specific timetable on her plans. “I will be helpful in any role that people think I can be helpful in, and then I will retire,” Birx told the news outlet. (Madhani and Slodysko, 12/23)

In a longer response, Birx added: “I will be helpful through a period of time. And then I will have to say that this experience has been a bit overwhelming. It’s been very difficult on my family.” Birx confirmed her plans to retire from government in a text message to POLITICO. But she stressed that there is no set date for her departure, and that she would stay on for as long as the Biden team requires. “I want to ensure the transition goes well,” Birx wrote, “meaning I will stay as long as needed and then retire.” (Forgey, 12/22)

The White House wished coronavirus task force coordinator Deborah Birx well after she announced her plans to retire on Tuesday. “President @realDonaldTrump has great respect for Dr. Birx and likes her very much. “We wish her well,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweeted on Tuesday. (Williams, 12/22)

In the aftermath of President Trump’s astounding suggestion in April that people may want to inject disinfectants to flush the coronavirus from their bodies, much of the public reaction focused on Dr. Deborah Birx. The respected AIDS doctor, who had joined the White House coronavirus task force earlier in the spring, was sitting to the president’s right in the Brady Briefing Room as he mused on alternative cures; cameras captured — and social media memes promulgated — her astonished reaction, which reflected perfectly the growing exasperation of Americans with a president who consistently subverted and maligned science, sowing confusion every time he took to the podium.“Dr. Birx is all of us right now,” read one tweet from a prominent Trump critic that was shared thousands of times. The accompanying video was viewed by 21 million people. (Nazaryan, 12/22)