Monday, July 18, 2022

Sarah Ohermohle wrote an article in Politico where I mentioned that I would be leaving the NIH sometime before the end of President Biden's first term to which is January 2025. This is being interpreted by many in the press that I'm announcing my retirement. This is obviously not the case because I have given no date for stepping down and I am not retiring when I leave government service. However given the interest in me it is not surprising that this is now gone viral: Anthony Fauci wants to put Covid’s politicization behind him The disease fighter says he’s plotting his departure and reflecting on how he wants to be remembered. Financial Times: Kiran Stacey US chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci to step down in Joe Biden’s first term Kiran Stacey 4-5 minutes Washington Post: Fauci says he will retire from government post by the end of Biden’s term By Yasmeen Abutaleb

at 11:45 a.m. EDT New York Times (Sheryl Stolberg): Fauci Says He Will ‘Almost Certainly’ Retire by January 2025 Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, 81, said he expected to see out President Biden’s current term. Wall Street Journal – Stephanie Armour and Betsy McKay Anthony Fauci Plans to Retire by End of Biden’s Term One of the leading public faces of the U.S. public-health response to Covid-19 says he hasn’t decided on exact date ---------------------------------- I had a very good talk today with Sam Bankman-Fried and his brother Gabriel Bankman who runs a foundation called “Guarding Against Pandemics”. Also on the call were their associates Jacob Swett and Annabel Snidow. (see above) . We spoke about how Sam with his billions of dollars could partner with the NIH and pushing the scientific agenda for the prototype pathogen approach of pandemic preparedness. Sam is a good friend of senator Joe Manchin and Joe is the one who originally pointed Sam in my direction to see if somehow we can all work together to having some sort of a partnership where the Congress puts in a certain amount for pandemic preparedness using the prototype pathogen model and Sam puts in an equal amount to support the effort through NI AID. We left it that they put together a proposal and that I serve as the scientific advisor for the amount of money that Sam wants to put into this even though I must be careful and will be careful about not getting involved in writing any legislation since Manchin has been talking about writing this into a reconciliation bill. PRESS: CNN with Kate Bolduan; Reuters interview with Julie Steenhuysen; NBC Online Web; NPR with Rob Stein (talking about the Politico article (see above)