Anthony Stephen Fauci (/ˈfaʊtʃi/ FOW-chee;[5] born December 24, 1940) is an American physician-scientist and immunologist who served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) from 1984 to 2022, and the chief medical advisor to the president from 2021 to 2022.

Fauci grew up Catholic,[17][20] but also considers himself a humanist who "has faith in the goodness of mankind", stating that he thinks "that there are a lot of things about organized religion that are unfortunate, and [that he tends] to like to stay away from it.

He played a significant role in the early 2000s in creating the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)[31] and in driving development of biodefense drugs and vaccines following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

In a 1985 Stanford University Arthritis Center Survey, members of the American Rheumatism Association ranked Fauci's work on the treatment of polyarteritis nodosa and granulomatosis with polyangiitis as one of the most important advances in patient management in rheumatology over the previous 20 years.

Kramer, who had spent years hating Fauci for his treatment of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, eventually called him "the only true and great hero" among government officials during the AIDS crisis.

[19] In 2014, Sean Strub of HuffPost criticized Fauci for "delaying promotion of an AIDS treatment that would have prevented tens of thousands of deaths in the first years of the epidemic" and accused him of "rewriting history.

His most notorious error was a 1983 paper suggesting "routine close contact, as within a family household," might spread the disease, but it was an understandable mistake given what was known at the time and he corrected it within a year, lightning speed by the standards of academic publishing.

[44]Fauci was the main architect of President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), an HIV/AIDS program responsible for saving over 20 million lives in the developing world.

[48] Specifically, Fauci said, "While NIAID is an active participant in the global effort to address the public health emergency occurring in west Africa, it is important to recognize that we are still in the early stages of understanding how infection with the Ebola virus can be treated and prevented.

"[48] Fauci also remarked in the hearing: "As we continue to expedite research while enforcing high safety and efficacy standards, the implementation of the public health measures already known to contain prior Ebola virus outbreaks and the implementation of treatment strategies such as fluid and electrolyte replacement is essential to preventing additional infections, treating those already infected, protecting healthcare providers, and ultimately bringing this epidemic to an end.

[18] Fauci was a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force established in late January 2020, under President Donald Trump, to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

[49][50] He became a de facto public health spokesperson for the office of the president during the pandemic,[51][52] and a strong advocate for ongoing social distancing efforts in the United States.

[68] In June 2020, Fauci said that he was "very concerned" that the ongoing protests against police brutality would cause "surges" in COVID-19 cases, stating that the "large crowds" are a "perfect set-up" for the virus to spread.

However, the White House list neglected to mention that in that same interview, Fauci had stated that the risk could change, "when you start to see community spread", and that the disease could morph into "a major outbreak" in the country.

[78] As late as September 23, 2020, when U.S. coronavirus fatalities exceeded 200,000, conservatives continued to question Fauci's and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recommendations for responding to the pandemic.

After Paul then asserted New York's high fatality rate showed that mitigation efforts were insufficient, Fauci replied, "You've misconstrued that, Senator, and you've done that repetitively in the past."

[82] Paul had made numerous claims about herd immunity, Sweden's interventions to combat the pandemic, the contention that the populations of Asian countries have greater resilience against COVID-19, and statements about death rates due to the virus.

Fauci said he did not consent to the ad, his words were taken out of context (he was actually referring to how hard the Coronavirus Task Force was working),[83] and he had never made a political endorsement in his career.

[84] Also, in October, Fauci criticized the Great Barrington Declaration's "focused protection" herd immunity strategy, calling it "ridiculous", "total nonsense" and "very dangerous", saying that it would lead to a large number of avoidable deaths.

[89] On October 31, The Washington Post published an extensive interview with Fauci, in which he voiced a candid assessment of the administration's COVID-19 policies and was critical of the influence of presidential advisor Scott Atlas.

[90] Shortly after midnight on November 2, 2020, Trump insinuated he would fire Fauci "after the election" while on stage at a campaign rally at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport in Opa-locka, Florida.

"[95] On January 3, 2021, President Trump tweeted, "The number of cases and deaths of the China Virus is far exaggerated in the United States because of [the CDC's] ridiculous method of determination compared to other countries".

"[98] On January 23, 2021, Fauci was quoted saying that letting the science speak on the pandemic got him "into a little bit of trouble" and got "push-back from people in the White House, including the president", during the Trump administration.

"[113][114][115] In February 2022, Fauci told the Financial Times that "As we get out of the full-blown pandemic phase of Covid-19, which we are certainly heading out of, these decisions will increasingly be made on a local level rather than centrally decided or mandated.

[119] In a July 2022 interview with Politico, Fauci had been reported to be "leaving by the end of President Joe Biden's term", though he later clarified he may step down from his role as NIAID director.

[127] Owing to his prominent role in the United States' response to numerous global pandemics, most notably HIV/AIDS and COVID-19, Fauci has become the subject of tributes and interpretations across various media, including television, literature, merchandising, and internet memes.

[132] In the spring of 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, bakeries across the United States began selling pastries, particularly donuts, with Fauci's face on them to pay tribute to his work in the public health sector.

[135] In November 2021, Skyhorse released a book by anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. titled The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health.

[18] Prior to 2020, he had positive relationships with both Democrats and Republicans, and considered George W. Bush a close friend: "Obviously there's been appropriate controversy regarding decisions regarding Iraq, but his moral compass about health equity is very strong.

"[18] Fauci has specifically praised Bush's work to combat HIV/AIDS through PEPFAR, a global health initiative credited with saving over 20 million lives as of 2021[45] primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa.