Scientist's efforts to fight pandemic were applauded by many public health experts
Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease official who became the face of America’s Covid-19 pandemic response under presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden, announced on Monday he is stepping down in December after more than five decades of public service.
Fauci endured criticism from Trump and other conservatives and even death threats from people who objected to safeguards such as vaccination, social distancing and masking that he advocated to try to limit the lethality of the Covid-19 pandemic. “While I am moving on from my current positions, I am not retiring,” Fauci said in a statement on Monday. “After more than 50 years of government service, I plan to pursue the next phase of my career while I still have so much energy and passion for my field.”
However, he drew the ire of Trump and many Republicans for cautioning against reopening the US economy too quickly and risking increased infections and for opposing the use of unproven treatments such as the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine. Asked in a July 2020 interview how he coped with the attacks on his character and allegiance to Trump as president, Fauci said: “I don’t let it bother me. What we’re doing with vaccines, what we’re doing with therapeutics, what we’re doing with clinical trials is the real substance.”