President-elect Joe Biden told CNN that he asked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the expert on the coronavirus pandemic, to become his chief medical adviser and part of his COVID-19 response team.

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been a top official dealing with the pandemic. But President Donald Trump sidelined him at points during the year after Fauci’s stark warnings about the importance of wearing masks, social distancing and halting large-scale gatherings.

“I asked him to stay on the exact same role he"s had for the past several presidents, and I asked him to be a chief medical adviser for me as well, and be part of the Covid team”, - said Biden.

Fauci had told CBS News that he would meet Thursday Biden’s transition team to discuss the response to the coronavirus pandemic.