FAUCI TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19
Biden’s top medical adviser will continue working remotely
Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s top medical adviser for the coronavirus pandemic, has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing “mild symptoms,” the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said Wednesday.
Fauci, the institute’s director, tested positive on a rapid antigen test, the agency said in a statement. It added that he is fully vaccinated against the virus and has been boosted twice.
He is taking Paxlovid, the Pfizer antiviral therapy authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of COVID-19, an agency spokesperson said.
News that Fauci, one of the world’s foremost infectious disease specialists and a household name thanks to the pandemic, had fallen victim to the coronavirus reverberated across Washington and the country. The positive test was the first for Fauci, who is 81.
But with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that more than half of Americans have contracted COVID-19, he is hardly the only big-name sufferer. Xavier Becerra, the secretary of health and human services, tested positive Monday for the second time in less than a month. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, who is 83, announced Tuesday that she had tested positive; she had also done so in April.
Fauci has not been in close contact with Biden or other senior government officials recently and will “isolate and continue to work from his home,” the statement from his institute said. He will return to his office once he tests negative.
But he had been making public appearances. The AIDS Clinical Trials Group — a network of hundreds of researchers conducting studies to improve treatment of HIV and related infections — is meeting in Washington this week, and Fauci, whose laboratory work has been focused on HIV/AIDS, addressed the group in person Tuesday.
Along with other top federal health officials, Fauci was expected to testify Thursday before the Senate Health Committee on the state of the pandemic. An official said Fauci’s institute was working with committee staff to arrange for a remote appearance.
Fauci has spent 50 years in government and has advised seven presidents, beginning with Ronald Reagan, on epidemic and pandemic threats.
But the coronavirus pandemic turned Fauci into a political lightning rod. His public urging of health precautions like mask-wearing and social distancing made him a frequent target of critics who questioned or opposed such measures.
Perhaps more than anyone, he knows how infectious the coronavirus is. This spring, he decided against attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner — a gathering of prominent political and news media figures that featured an appearance by the president.
The dinner, which drew more than 2,000 guests to a packed hotel ballroom, ended up spreading the virus among many journalists and other attendees.