Onto the next! All good things must come to an end. Today, Dr. Anthony Fauci shared that he will resign from his roles as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical officer to President Joe Biden. Fauci served as the nation’s top infectious disease expert over the last four decades, which will come to an end in December.
Dr. Fauci said, “I am announcing today that I will be stepping down from the positions of Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, as well as the position of Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden. I will be leaving these positions in December of this year to pursue the next chapter of my career.”
News of the role departures had him trending on Twitter with a mixture of responses. One user tweeted, “Your grandparent died alone, your business went under, and your child lost two years of their education while Dr. Fauci went on TV every day, did photoshoots for magazines, and became the highest paid government employee. He is the most destructive bureaucrat in American history.”
Another wrote, “Dr. Fauci deserves a long, restful, happy retirement after his nearly 50 years of stellar public service.” Whether folk love or hate Dr. Fauci, 38 years in his role at NIAID was impactful. CNN reports that while working in former President Ronald Reagan’s administration, Dr. Fauci helped lead the U.S. response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, West Nile virus, anthrax attacks, pandemic influenza, various bird influenza threats, Ebola and Zika.
In addition, he became one of the most public faces of the federal response to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Following Dr. Fauci’s announcement, President Biden praised his work in a statement, touching on his “unwavering” commitment to the work and his “unparalleled spirit, energy, and scientific integrity.”
Roommates, what are your thoughts on Dr. Fauci’s upcoming departure?