Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, who serves as the United State’s leading infectious-diseases expert and the face of the response to the coronavirus pandemic for over two years, is estimated to step down from his current position following more than 50 years in government by 2025, the end of current U.S. President Joe Biden’s term, clarified on Tuesday, July 19, according to The Hill.
What Led Up to This?
Dr. Fauci, who is the chief medical adviser of the Biden administration, has also been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984 after joining in 1968. In this role, he guided “seven presidents through all manner of public health crises, including HIV/AIDS, the 2001 anthrax attacks, Ebola, Zika, and coronavirus.”
Fauci felt that it would be time for him to step down from the position he currently holds.
Over the course of the pandemic, President Trump openly criticized Dr. Fauci by saying he would consider firing him. While, upon Biden’s presidency win, Fauci was announced as Biden’s chief medical adviser and has greatly leaned on Fauci in the coronavirus pandemic response, according to the Washington Post.
On Tuesday, July 19, Dr. Fauci clarified that he would not retire. However, he does not intend to be in his current position by January 2025. He further that he has not fully decided. But, he is certain he has other things he wants to carry out in a “professional way” that he would want to have the ability to do with the energy and the passion to do it, according to The Hill.
Update on Current Pandemic
As a matter of fact, Dr. Fauci gave an update that “the coronavirus is here to stay.” With this said, the country would need to reach a decreased threshold of infections to exit the pandemic phase. In fact, the virus has continued to vastly spread through the country in spite of the extensive availability of vaccines. More recently, the BA.5 variant has developed into the dominant variant in the U.S and has been proven more difficult to contain. This is due to antibodies from vaccinations and prior coronavirus infections offering minuscule protection against the omicron subvariant.
In addition, he said that America has entered a pattern, and if someone were to say “‘You’ll leave when we don’t have COVID anymore,’ then I will be 105. I think we’re going to be living with this.'” He, additionally says that the goal is to receive a once-per-year COVID-19 vaccine, similar to the flu, with acknowledging that certain efforts have been hindered by the arrival of new variants at times becoming dominant variants over the course of weeks.
Written by Ke’Lena Thomas
Edited by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
The Washington Post: Fauci says he will retire from government post by the end of Biden’s term; by Yasmeen Abutaleb
Fox News: Fauci to retire by the end of Biden’s term; by Danielle Wallace
The Hill: Fauci: ‘I’m not going to retire’; by Joseph Choi
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Inset Image Courtesy of NIAID’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
