Washington:
Anthony Fauci, the covid adviser to President Joe Biden, America’s top infectious disease expert who became the face of the country’s fight against the pandemic, announced Monday that he will step down in December.
Fauci said in a statement that he would be leaving both his position as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and that of Biden’s chief medical adviser, although he added, “I am not retiring.”
The 81-year-old, who previously made plans to leave by the end of Biden’s current term, announced he would be leaving in December to “pursue the next chapter of my career”.
Biden expressed his “deepest thanks” to Fauci in a statement from the White House.
“Due to Dr. Fauci’s many contributions to public health, lives have been saved here in the United States and around the world,” the president said, adding that “he has made the country stronger, more resilient and healthier.”
Fauci has aided the United States’ response to infectious disease outbreaks since the 1980s, from HIV/AIDS to Covid-19, and has served under seven presidents.
When Covid first spread globally from China in 2020, it became a trusted source of reliable information, reassuring the public with his calm and professorial demeanor during frequent media appearances.
But his honest look at America’s early failures to master the virus brought Fauci into conflict with former President Donald Trump and made the physician-scientist a hated figure to some on the right.
Fauci now lives with security after his family received death threats and harassment.
Biden said Fauci was “one of my first calls” after winning the 2020 election, when he was trying to build a team to lead the Covid-19 response.
“In that role, I’ve been able to call him for his advice at any hour of the day as we’ve dealt with this once-in-a-generation pandemic,” the president said.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)