Fauci, the US Covid adviser, will step down at the end of this year

Washington (AFP) – Anthony Fauci, the White House’s top adviser during the coronavirus crisis, will step down in December. The well-known American virologist (81) was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for 38 years. He also headed the Immunology Regulatory Laboratory there.

“I have had the privilege to lead such an extraordinary institution for a long time with so many challenges in science and public health. I am proud of the many things we have achieved. I have worked with — and learned from — countless talented and dedicated people in my own lab, at NIAID, and the services National Health and others. I want to express my inexhaustible respect and gratitude to them,” Fauci said in a statement issued on Monday.

Fauci has been an advisor to seven US presidents in his long career, beginning with Ronald Reagan. Over the years, he’s had to contend with HIV, AIDS, West Nile virus, anthrax (anthrax) attacks, pandemic influenza, all kinds of bird flu, Ebola, Zika and most recently, of course, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

Although Fauci will stop working for the government at the end of this year, he is not thinking of enjoying the silence of his retirement. “I am planning to move on to the next stage of my career because I still have a lot of energy and passion for my field.” The NIAID chief promised to continue to actively put all his learning and experience at the service of medical scientific research and public health.