OPINION: Dr. Fauci Will Resign in December; Good Riddance
The highest paid federal government employee is leaving in December. This is long overdue news.
Dr. Anthony Fauci has announced his resignation slated for later this year. He currently serves as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, and Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden. The news of his resignation has sent waves throughout the American political landscape.
“I will be leaving these positions in December of this year to pursue the next chapter of my career.”
Fauci has more than 50 years of government service under his belt. Though he is moving on from his current roles, Fauci is not retiring. He will turn 82 this December.
“While I am moving on from my current positions, I am not retiring. After more than 50 years of government service, I plan to pursue the next phase of my career while I still have so much energy and passion for my field. 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.”
The Republican Response
Several high-profile Republican politicians took to social media in response to the news of Fauci’s impending resignation. Despite Fauci’s imminent resignation, Republican politicians are expressing renewed interest in leading investigations against him. Only time will tell if these Republicans hold true to their word.
The Beagle Backlash
Fauci's critics slammed him for overseeing abusive $400k+ experiments on beagle dogs. Beagles were tied down, exposed to infectious flesh-eating flies, and had their vocal cords cut to prevent pain-induced barking or yelping. The dogs were later euthanized.
“In a statement to Newsweek, the White Coat Waste Project said that the experiments were related to treatment for a tropical disease called lymphatic filariasis, and that tests had already been conducted on other animals.”
“Vocal cordectomies, conducted humanely under anesthesia, may be used in research facilities where numerous dogs are present,” the statement said. “This is to reduce noise, which is not only stressful to the animals but can also reach decibel levels that exceed OSHA allowable limits for people and can lead to hearing loss.”
Fauci, the NIH, and Gain-of-Function
Fauci was not truthful about the NIH’s involvement in gain-of-function research. He previously rejected that the NIH had funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan. Several related congressional hearings between Fauci and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) later went viral.
“Richard Ebright, board of governors professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Rutgers University and laboratory director at the Waksman Institute of Microbiology, told Newsweek these documents show ‘unequivocally’ that NIH grants were used to fund controversial gain-of-function (GOF) research at the Wuhan Insitute of Virology in China—something U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has denied.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(NIAID), which is part of the NIH, told Congress in May that the NIH ‘has not ever
and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of
Virology.’
Ebright said: "The documents make it clear that assertions by the NIH director,
Francis Collins, and the NIAID director, Anthony Fauci, that the NIH did not
support gain-of-function research or potential pandemic pathogen enhancement
in Wuhan are untruthful."
"‘Two especially noteworthy sections are page 28 and Figure 35 of the year four progress report on the first five year grant term (1R01-AI110964) and page 3, Figure 6, of the proposal for a second five-year grant term (2R01-AI110964).’
Ebright said these sections of the documents show that NIH grants supported the construction of mutant SARS-related coronaviruses that involved blending different types together. The result was a lab-generated virus that could infect human cells, he said, adding that at least three of the lab-generated viruses ‘exhibited >10x to >100x higher viral loads in humanized mice.’
A humanized mouse is a mouse that has been bio-engineered to mimic certain biological characteristics similar to humans, such as the immune system, so that they can be tested on in labs as a human surrogate. They are commonly used in research.”
Masks or no Masks, Fauci?
Fauci admitted that supply shortage concerns influenced public guidance surrounding mask use. Fauci and his health team intentionally downplayed the need for masking in order to reserve more supplies for the public health community. Why should we trust a public health professional who will intentionally deceive the public?
“So, why weren't we told to wear masks in the beginning?
‘Well, the reason for that is that we were concerned the public health community, and many people were saying this, were concerned that it was at a time when personal protective equipment, including the N95 masks and the surgical masks, were in very short supply. And we wanted to make sure that the people namely, the health care workers, who were brave enough to put themselves in a harm way, to take care of people who you know were infected with the coronavirus and the danger of them getting infected.’"
Final Thoughts
Dr. Fauci was not above animal cruelty. He was either ignorant or apathetic towards funding dangerous research reminiscent of what may have birthed COVID-19. Finally, Dr. Fauci is not above withholding the truth from the American people during a health crisis. For these reasons, I believe that the sooner he leaves the government, the better. Thanks for reading.