Washington:
Anthony Fauci, the Covid adviser to President Joe Biden, the top US infectious disease expert who is the face of the country’s fight against the pandemic, announced on Monday that he would step down in December.
Fauci said in a statement that he would step down as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and chief medical adviser to Biden – although he added: “I am not retiring.”
The 81-year-old, who previously revealed plans to leave by the end of Biden’s current term, announced that he would be “pursuing the next chapter of my career” in December.
Biden extended his “deep thanks” to Fauci in a White House statement.
“Because of Dr. Fauci’s many contributions to public health, people have been saved here in the United States and around the world,” the president said, adding that the country is “stronger, more resilient, and healthier because of him.”
Fauci has helped in the United States’ response to outbreaks of infectious diseases from HIV/AIDS to COVID-19 since the 1980s and has served under seven presidents.
When COVID first spread globally from China in 2020, he became a reliable source of credible information, consistently reassuring the public with his calm and professorial demeanor in the media.
But his honesty overshadowed America’s early failures in the grip of the virus, bringing Fauci into conflict with former President Donald Trump, and turning the physician-scientist into a hater for some on the right.
After receiving death threats and harassment from his family, Fauci now lives with security.
Biden said that after winning the 2020 election, when he was trying to build a team to lead the COVID-19 response, Fauci was “one of my first calls.”
“In that role, I am able to call on him at any time of day for his advice as we deal with this generation-after-generation pandemic,” the president said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)