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Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci, who will stay on Biden's COVID-19 equity task force and take on the elevated role of chief medical adviser, appeared virtually at Biden's rollout and expressed support for Biden's initiatives around masks and vaccinations in his first 100 days in office.

"I believe, as you do, that in the fight against this pandemic, we must lead with science and that a key piece of our ongoing work is communicating consistently with the American people," Fauci began.

"Whether it's maintaining social distancing and not congregating indoors, or the 100-day challenge you described on masking or to get as many people vaccinated as possible, these actions are bold, but they are doable and essential to help the public avoid unnecessary risks, to help us save lives, reopen schools and businesses and to eventually beat the pandemic," he continued.

Acknowledging he's dealt with many public health crises in his career, Fauci said the COVID-19 pandemic is "the toughest one we have ever faced as a nation," and repeated Biden's warnings that a dark winter is ahead.

"The road ahead will not be easy. We have got a lot of hard and demanding work to do in the next year, but as we have done during previous crises, I also know we can get through this pandemic together as a nation," Fauci added, thanking Biden for the opportunity to serve in this capacity.

Fauci explained he wasn't able to attend the event in-person because his colleague at the NIAID is receiving the Nobel Prize in medicine Tuesday.

Biden's nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, who served in the same role in Obama administration, reminded in his remarks that COVID-19 is not the only health crisis devastating families and shortening life spans in America while warning that even with the best policies, the nation must overcome the fear and distrust that many are feeling amid the pandemic.

"In my new expanded role, I will work to bring a health focus to our policies across government so that our schools, our workplaces and our communities can be forces for strengthening our health and wellbeing, but the truth is that the very best policies, and even the best vaccines and treatments, will not heal our nation unless we also overcome the fear, anxiety, anger and distrust that so many Americans are feeling right now," Murthy said.

"So more than anything, I will come to this role as a doctor, one who learned the most important lessons about medicine not in medical school, but from the clinic that my parents opened when they first came to America as immigrants decades ago," he added.

Drawing from personal experience, Murthy went on to say he is "endlessly grateful to serve one of the few countries in the world where the grandson of a poor farmer in India could be asked by the president-elect to look out for the health of an entire nation."

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Biden's nominee to lead the Health and Human Services Department who would be the first Latino in the position if confirmed, said the incoming Biden administration will elevate the knowledge of medial professionals and build a country where health care is a right, not a privilege.

"At HHS, tackling pandemics, saving lives, keeping us healthy, should be our calling card. And we won't forget that there is a second "H" in HHS, the human services: the work we do for our children, the seniors and and disabled. They will stand tall in a Biden-Harris HHS," Becerra said.

Becerra also shared a personal story, of his father passing away peacefully at home on New Year's Day, contrasting it to the present moment.

"No one should ever have to die alone in a hospital bed, loved ones forced to stay away. That seems so contrary to the values of a great nation, the values that drew my parents like generations before and after them to come to America," he said.

Becerra led the states' defense of the Affordable Care Act after the Trump administration sued to dismantle the program earlier this year.

Ahead of introducing his health care picks, Biden made his mask campaign official and called on all Americans to wear a mask for the first 100 days of his presidency as part of three key objectives he's asking his health care team to complete in his first 100 days in office.

"My first 100 days won’t end the COVID-19 virus. I can't promise that," Biden said. "We didn’t get into this mess quickly. We're not going to get out of it quickly. It's going to take some time. But I'm absolutely convinced that in 100 days we can change the course of the disease and change life in America for the better."

Biden said his team's second initiative is to have "at least 100 million COVID vaccine shots into the arms of the American people in the first 100 days." The initiative comes as the Biden team has said it's seen "no detailed plan" on vaccine distribution from the Trump administration.

Finally, Biden said getting children back to school and keeping them in school will be a "national priority" for the team in the first 100 days, saying Congress can help make this happen with the appropriate funding.

"I'm encouraged by the bipartisan efforts in Congress around a $900 billion economic relief package which I've said is critical, but this package is only a start for more action early next year," Biden added.