WASHINGTON, DC — US presidential
COVID advisor An-thony Fauci, 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.
اضافة اعلان
Fauci said in a statement he would be leaving both
his position as direc-tor of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases, and that of chief medical advisor to
President Joe Biden — though he
added: “I am not retiring.”
The 81-year-old, who previously disclosed plans to
leave by the end of Biden’s current term, announced he would go in December to
“pursue the next chapter of my career”.
Biden extended his “deepest thanks” to Fauci in a
White House state-ment.
“Because of Dr Fauci’s many contributions to public
health, lives here in the US and around the world have been saved,” the
president said, add-ing that the country is “is stronger, more resilient, and
healthier because of him.”
Fauci has helmed the US’ 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, he became a trusted source of reliable
information, reassuring the public with his calm and professorial demeanor
during frequent media appearances.
But his honest takes on America’s early failures to
get to grips with the virus brought Fauci into conflict with former president
Donald Trump, and turned the physician-scientist into a hated figure for some
on the right.
Fauci now lives with security protection after his
family received death threats and harassment.
Biden said that after winning the 2020 election, as
he was trying to build a team to lead the COVID-19 response, Fauci was “one of
my first calls.”
“In that role, I’ve been able to call him at any
hour of the day for his ad-vice as we’ve tackled this once-in-a-generation
pandemic,” the president stated.
Read more Region and World
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
