Just got word of what many of us expected all along: Anthony Fauci is going to retire from a several-decades-long career in public service.
To which I want to offer the good doctor a heartfelt expression of thanks and gratitude for all he has done to help protect us against infectious disease.
Fauci, of course, became the face of medical awareness during the COVID-19 pandemic that spanned two administrations, from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. He is the nation’s — if not the world’s — leading expert on infectious disease. He spoke the truth to us when he had the answers to a disease that was killing thousands of Americans daily. When he didn’t know the answers, he had the guts to say so.
Oh, but the man who served as President Biden’s senior medical adviser, had to endure the defamatory criticism that came from the far-right wing of our political life. They didn’t trust him. They bristled at mask mandates, at calls for social distancing, at government telling citizens what they needed to protect themselves and others from a killer virus. He even had to endure the undermining of his public statements that came from Donald J. Trump, who hired him to manage our pandemic response.
Fauci served through several administrations, going back to the time of Ronald Reagan. He served with honor and with dedication to the practice of medicine and public health.
Fauci said he will leave in December. Presumably he will head toward a private life with his wife and family.
The man has earned some time off.
As the saying goes to those who have devoted their life to the cause of serving the public … thank you for your service, doc.