Dr. Fauci Tests Positive For COVID-19
On Wednesday, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that Dr. Anthony Fauci, a U.S. public health official and the face of the government efforts to contain the Coronavirus pandemic, has tested positive for COVID-19.
In a statement from the NIH, Dr. Fauci, who is the chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, had been experiencing mild symptoms. The statement also said that he has not recently been in close contact with the president.
Dr. Fauci, who is 81 years old, has been fully vaccinated and twice boosted, and will self-isolate himself and continue his work from home.
Read Also:
Dr. Fauci, who is the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, became a popular and trusted figure during the COVID-19 pandemic when he had served on the White House coronavirus task force under the twice impeached former President Donald Trump.
He then came under criticism from the former president and a few of his Republican allies as Dr. Fauci had cautioned them against reopening the U.S. economy too soon, and had been vilified by those who had opposed the COVID vaccine and masking mandates.
Trump had become increasingly critical towards government health officials and their guidance as a rise in the COVID-19 infections had threatened the easing of shutdown restrictions across the United States in the months preceding the November 2020 presidential election, which he had lost to President Biden.
