Fauci Announces He Is Stepping Down in December 2022

Anthony Fauci, MD, announced Monday he is stepping down in December 2022 from the positions of director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, and chief medical advisor to the president.

Fauci, 81, said in a statement released by the National Institutes of Health that he is leaving “to pursue the next chapter of my career” and that he is not retiring.

“I want to use what I have learned as NIAID Director to continue to advance science and public health and to inspire and mentor the next generation of scientific leaders as they help prepare the world to face future infectious disease threats.”

Fauci began leading the NIAID 38 years ago under President Ronald Reagan. After Reagan, he served 6 more presidents, Republicans and Democrats alike, and oversaw reponses to HIV/AIDS, the West Nile virus, anthrax attacks, Ebola and Zika viruses, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008 by President George W. Bush.

In a statement, President Joe Biden praised Fauci’s long public service career, saying that as vice president, “I came to know him as a dedicated public servant, and a steady hand with wisdom and insight honed over decades at the forefront of some of our most dangerous and challenging public health crises.”