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Former White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx joins Bush Institute and Dallas-based air purifier company

Dr. Deborah Birx will serve as chief medical and scientific advisor for ActivePure Technologies, the company's CEO, Joseph Urso, announced on Friday.
Credit: AP
White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx speaks during a news conference with the coronavirus task force at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

DALLAS — Dr. Deborah Birx, the former coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force under President Donald Trump, has been hired by Dallas-based ActivePure Technologies.

Dr. Birx will serve as chief medical and scientific advisor for the company, CEO Joseph Urso announced on Friday.

The move comes after Dr. Birx spent most of 2020 serving as the leader of the White House's response to the pandemic, seen almost daily with Dr. Anthony Fauci in coronavirus briefings. She came under fire from critics who felt Dr. Birx didn't do enough to correct former President Trump's misinformation about the virus and its treatments. 

The retired U.S. Army physician was appointed to the task force by former Vice-President Mike Pence and was one of two women on the team.

In her role with ActivePure Technologies, Dr. Birk will use her medical and scientific expertise to help the company's research and development of air purification technologies.

On its website, ActivePure Technologies touts that its products "eliminate over 99% of the virus that causes COVID-19 in the air and on surfaces."

The company's owner, Aerus Holdings, operated as Electrolux USA for more than 75 years until its rebranding in 2000.

In another announcement Friday, the George W. Bush Institute said Dr. Birx will join the organization as a Senior Fellow. 

At the Institute, Dr. Birx will support global health work and "take on policy initiatives on how to better position our country to tackle health disparities ... based off the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic," according to a statement released on Friday.

"I am thrilled to be working with the incredible people and impactful programs at the Bush Institute," said Dr. Birx in a statement published by the Bush Institute.

 “The Bush Institute programs put people at the center, recognizing we are stronger when we listen to each other, learn from one another, and come together to do things bigger than any of us could do alone," Dr. Birx said. 

    

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