Posted on by Randy Slovacek

Dr. Anthony Fauci Announces Plans To Retire

Dr. Anthony Fauci shared that he plans to retire as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health by the end of President Joe Biden’s current term.
Dr. Anthony Fauci (photo: White House)

In a recent interview with Politico, Dr. Anthony Fauci shared that he plans to retire as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health by the end of President Joe Biden’s current term.

Fauci became a national name over the past few years as the medical world’s ‘face’ of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci told Politico that while we haven’t conquered the virus yet (approximately 300 Americans a day are still dying), he believes “we’re almost at a steady state.”

“I think, although I don’t know for sure, [that] over the next cycle or so, we’ll be getting towards a once a year boost, like flu,” Fauci said.

Related: Dr. Fauci Gets COVID Shot To Convey Confidence & Safety In Vaccine

But Fauci doesn’t want his career to be defined by COVID-19, but rather, his work to end the HIV epidemic.

From Politico:

With Fauci’s urging, Trump pledged in a State of the Union address to end America’s HIV epidemic. President Barack Obama released the federal government’s first national HIV/AIDS strategy in 2010.

And with President George W. Bush, Fauci says he accomplished what “may be the most impactful thing I have done in my career” – the founding of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, a global program the State Department estimates has saved 21 million lives.

In the decades since Fauci began work on HIV/AIDS, treating and preventing the virus has transformed. People live for years with HIV or can prevent transmission with daily pills and now, injections every few months.

Since 1981, Fauci has provided extensive medical advice to seven presidents on HIV and AIDS issues. Additionally, he’s worked to strengthen public health and medical readiness for emerging infectious diseases like COVID-19 and pandemic influenza.