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Dr. Anthony Fauci says he’s ready to retire.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, told CNN on Monday that he plans to step down in the next few years.
“By the time we get to the end of Biden’s first term, I will very likely (retire),” Fauci said. Biden’s term will end in January 2025.
“‘By the time we get to the end of Biden’s first term, I will very likely (retire).’”
— Dr. Anthony Fauci
Fauci, 81, has served in various roles in the public health sector for more than 50 years, and has acted as an advisor to every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan.
“We’re in a pattern now. If somebody says, ‘You’ll leave when we don’t have COVID anymore,’ then I will be 105,” Fauci told Politico in a recent interview. “I think we’re going to be living with this” virus.
Fauci has been at the forefront of the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, while serving as an advisor to both former President Donald Trump and Biden since 2020.
The announcement comes as COVID-19 cases are rising again in the U.S. after being steady for several months. The BA.5 omicron subvariant has become dominant, and is potentially the most transmissible COVID-19 variant seen so far.
The daily average for new U.S. cases stood at 129,938 on Sunday, per the New York Times tracker, up 15% from two weeks ago. The daily average for hospitalizations is up 20% over the last two weeks, and the daily average for deaths is up 9%.
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