The White House’s top adviser on the coronavirus crisis will step down in December. Anthony Fauci has served seven US presidents, served government for more than half a century, and headed the first US Agency for Infectious Diseases for 38 years.

He became famous and insulted as the man who advised Presidents Trump and Biden on Corona measures. Anthony Fauci, 81, has become the face of the government’s response to a disease that has so far taken more than million Take lives.

Fauci and Trump publicly disagreed about how to handle the coronavirus and what message it should send to the American people. At one point, Trump indicated that he was considering firing Fauci, but decided not to.

Fauci’s career took off in the early 1980s when he was involved in HIV research. He advised President Ronald Reagan and the six presidents after him on how to deal with the pandemic. By the way, he is not a virologist, as is often assumed, but an immunologist.

Many successful treatments for autoimmune diseases are based on his findings. It has also played an important role in the fight against malaria, tuberculosis, Ebola, bird flu and, more recently, monkeypox. Democratic and Republican presidents trusted his advice blindly.

Fauci himself avoids the term “retirement.” In a statement, he pledged to continue putting his expertise in the service of medical scientific research and public health. He didn’t know yet what exactly he would do.

President Biden Fauci . praised Tonight. “His contributions have saved many lives in America and elsewhere. America is stronger, more resilient, and healthier because of him.”