The US’s top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci – who became a household name and subject of partisan attacks during the Covid-19 pandemic – said he will retire in December.
Dr Fauci will step down after five decades’ service.
He serves as US president Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation.
He was a leader in the federal response to HIV, Aids and other infectious diseases before the coronavirus hit.
After four decades of service, Dr. Fauci announces he is leaving government “to pursue the next chapter of my career.” pic.twitter.com/zDQrmXHW3T
Advertisement— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) August 22, 2022
“I will be leaving these positions in December of this year to pursue the next chapter of my career,” Dr Fauci said in a statement, calling the roles “the honour of a lifetime”.
Dr Fauci became the face of the government response to Covid-19 as it hit in early 2020, with frequent appearances on television news and at daily press conferences with White House officials, including then-president Donald Trump.
But as the pandemic deepened, Dr Fauci fell out of favour with Mr Trump and his officials when his urgings of continued public caution clashed with the former president’s desire to return to normalcy and to promote unproven therapies for the virus.
Dr Fauci found himself marginalised by the Trump administration, increasingly kept out of major decisions about the federal response, but he continued to speak out publicly in media interviews, advocating social distancing and face coverings in public settings before the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccines.
He was also the subject of political attacks and death threats and was granted a security detail for his protection.
When Mr Biden won the White House, he asked Dr Fauci to stay on in his administration in an elevated capacity.
The President praised Dr Fauci in a statement, saying: “Whether you’ve met him personally or not, he has touched all Americans’ lives with his work.
“I extend my deepest thanks for his public service. The United States of America is stronger, more resilient, and healthier because of him.”
Dr Fauci said despite retiring from federal service he plans to continue working.
“I want to use what I have learned as NIAID director to continue to advance science and public health and to inspire and mentor the next generation of scientific leaders as they help prepare the world to face future infectious disease threats,” he said.
