White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci was quick to walk back comments this past Sunday after stating just this past week that he was thinking about the possibility of retirement,
In the wake of speaking about this possible retirement as part of an interview with Brad Mielke while on the “Start Here” podcast, Fauci stated that he planned to keep going in his current position at least until the “pandemic phase” was done.
“I have said that I would stay in what I’m doing until we get out of the pandemic phase and I think we might be there already, if we can stay in this,” stated Fauci, going on, “I can’t stay at this job forever, unless my staff is gonna find me slumped over my desk one day. I’d rather not do that.”
Although he did stop short of actually issuing any actual plans for his retirement, Fauci stated that he was excited about looking to a time when he could end up spending more time with his wife along with the rest of his family.
On the Sunday edition of “This Week,” Fauci issued a statement that made it entirely clear that he did not plan for anything to change in the near future.
WATCH:
.@GStephanopoulos: “Are we approaching the point where we are past the pandemic phase and you'll go get some rest?”
Dr. Fauci: “I'm not so sure. I want to make sure we're really out of this before I really seriously consider doing anything different.” https://t.co/AcoWdwYNTg pic.twitter.com/iRMDlyZXG4
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 20, 2022
Highlighting that the White House had brought Dr. Ashish Jha on staff in order to replace Jeff Zients, the former COVID Coordinator. George Stephanopoulos, host of “This Week,” asked if it was just as Fauci claimed and was time for him to step down and “get some rest.”
“You’ve said you’re going to stay in this job until we get out of the pandemic phase. You’ve served your country for decades. Are we approaching the point we’re beyond the pandemic phase and you’ll get some rest?” questioned Stephanopoulos.
“I’m not so sure, George,” claimed Fauci while laughing. “I want to make sure we’re really out of this before I consider doing anything different. We’re still in this. We have a way to go. We’re clearly going in the right direction. I hope we stay that way.”
Fauci also seemed to suggest during said interview that the world should be planning for a possible spike in new varients over the course of the next few years.
WATCH:
Dr. Anthony Fauci: "This virus has fooled us before, and we really must be prepared for the possibility that we might get another variant and we don't want to be caught flatfooted on that." https://t.co/JAxVOQT5k2 pic.twitter.com/rKjBJv6juk
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 20, 2022
“This virus has fooled us before, and we really must be prepared for the possibility that we might get another variant and we don’t want to be caught flatfooted on that,” Fauci stated.
He also spoke about the possibility of entirely new lockdowns as we stare down possible new variants, stating, “If in fact, we do see a turnaround and a resurgence, we have to be able to pivot and go back to any degree of mitigation that is commensurate with what the situation is. We can’t just say, ‘We’re done. We’re going to move on.’ We’ve got to be able to be flexible because we’re dealing with a dynamic situation.”
Many vocal critics are going to be upset by this new determination from Fauci to stay in his position, a few of whom had already taken to voicing their support for his retirements such as Ted Cruz and Mercedes Schlapp.