Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, attended a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing to discuss the federal response to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and new emerging options in Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, January 11, 2022
Greg Nash | Reuters
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leader of the US government’s response to the Covid pandemic, tested positive for coronavirus.
Fauci, who has been fully vaccinated and twice boosted against Covid, is experiencing mild symptoms, according to a statement Wednesday from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases he heads.
“Dr. Fauci will be isolated and will continue to work from home,” the statement said. “He has not had close contact with the president recently [Joe] Biden or other senior government officials. “
In addition to being director of NIAID, a division of the National Institutes of Health, Fauci, 81, is also Biden’s chief medical adviser.
Infections are rising again in the United States after Covid cases fell below 30,000 a day in March and April, according to a CNBC analysis of data collected by Johns Hopkins University. Driven by the highly contagious version of omicron, the average number of new infections per day has remained stable at over 100,000 since late May, according to the data.
NIAID said in a statement that Fauci would follow the Covid-19 guidelines issued by the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and “seek medical advice from his doctor and return to the NIH when tested negative.”
The infectious disease expert has been a public figure in Covid’s response since the pandemic began in the United States in March 2020.
Encouraging Fauci’s efforts to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus, including social distancing, wearing masks and, when available, vaccinations, made him a hero to many. But he also drew criticism from others who thought Covid’s official responses were too harsh.
Fauci was often annoyed by his role under then-President Donald Trump, who greatly downplayed the risk of Covid when he first exploded in China, and who sometimes criticized Fauci.
Last month, Fauci told CNN he would not continue to serve as White House chief medical adviser if Trump wins a second term as president in 2024.
“If you look at the history of the reaction during [Trump] administration, I think, you know, at best you can say it’s not optimal, “Fauci said in this interview.
“And I think only history will speak for itself.”
Nearly 86 million Americans have been infected with Covid in the past 18 months. Just over 1 million people in the United States have died from the virus, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins Medical University.
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