Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, announced Aug. 22 that he intends to retire from government service in December after four decades of work advising seven presidents, USA Today reported.
Fauci, who also is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said in a statement he will be leaving both positions “to pursue the next chapter” of his career.
In July, Fauci had said he intended to retire before the end of Biden’s current term.
Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Fauci advised President Donald Trump and Biden, as well as a weary country, during a time of uncertainty over the virus. He held a similar role as a public figure on infectious disease for viral epidemics including HIV, SARS, swine flu, Zika, Ebola and avian influenza.
Last year, Fauci talked with Windy City Times about the early days of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, when he became one of the first researchers/doctors involved in studying the virus. Among other things, he admitted he thought there would be a vaccine much sooner, but he “never thought we’d have such spectacular therapies, where you could treat somebody with a single pill for the rest of their lives.” That conversation is at http://www.windycitytimes.com/lgbt/HIV-at-40-Dr-Anthony-Fauci-on-the-early-days-of-another-pandemic/70663.html