Fauci, whose efforts to combat the pandemic have been applauded by many public health experts even as Trump and many Republicans revile him, will step down as Biden’s chief medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Diseases of the USA. part of the National Institutes of Health. Fauci, 81, has headed the institute since 1984. Fauci has served under seven US presidents starting with Republican Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, focusing on newly emerging and re-emerging infectious disease threats such as HIV/AIDS, Ebola, Zika, monkeypox and COVID-19. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Fauci has faced criticism from Trump and various conservatives, and even death threats from people who opposed safeguards such as vaccination, social distancing and face masks that he advocated to try to limit the lethality of the COVID-19 pandemic. “As he leaves his post in the US government, I know that the American people and the entire world will continue to benefit from Dr. Fauci’s expertise in whatever he does next,” Biden said in a statement. “The United States of America is stronger, more resilient and healthier because of it.” In July, Fauci told Reuters he would retire by the end of Biden’s first term, which runs until January 2025, adding that his departure could come much sooner than that. read more “While I am moving on from my current positions, I am not retiring,” Fauci said in a statement Monday. “After more than 50 years of government service, I plan to pursue the next phase of my career while still having as much energy and passion for my field.” In the early months of the pandemic in 2020, Fauci helped lead scientific efforts to develop and test COVID-19 vaccines in record time and participated in regular televised briefings at the White House alongside Trump. Fauci became a popular and trusted figure among many Americans as the nation grappled with lockdowns and rising death tolls from COVID-19, even inspiring the sale of cookies and dolls bearing his likeness. But Fauci drew the ire of Trump and many Republicans for warning against opening the U.S. economy too quickly and the risk of increased infections, and for opposing the use of unproven treatments such as the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine. Democrats have accused Trump of presiding over a disjointed response to the pandemic and ignoring the advice of public health experts, including Fauci. Trump in October 2020, weeks before his re-election loss, called Fauci a “disaster” and complained that Americans were tired of hearing about the pandemic. Trump even mocked Fauci’s ceremonial first pitch off the mark at a Washington Nationals baseball game. The US death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed one million, with more than 93 million cases recorded, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Asked in a July 2020 interview how he dealt with attacks on his character and his faith in Trump as president, Fauci told Reuters: “I don’t let it bother me. What are we doing with vaccines, what are we doing with therapeutics, that what we do with clinical trials is the real bottom line.” Attacks on Fauci by Republican Sen. Rand Paul have become a regular feature of Senate hearings on the pandemic, with heated exchanges over vaccine boosters and public research funding. Fauci accused the senator of spreading misinformation. read more Paul on his website accused Fauci of “ignoring good advice and lying about everything from masks to the contagiousness of the virus.” In a hearing, the senator accused Fauci of smearing other scientists who disagreed with him. “He’s doing this for political reasons,” Fauci said at the hearing, citing fundraising appeals on Paul’s website alongside a call for Fauci to be fired. Fauci will also step down as head of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru and Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago. Editing: Will Dunham and Sriraj Kalluvila Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
