(CNN) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was to many, the public face of government response to the coronavirus and a frequent target of Republican lawmakers’ ire arising from the shutdown.
Fauci became a veritable household name at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic as part of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, which was charged with monitoring and mitigating the spread of the virus.
Fauci spoke frequently to the worried and bewildered American public at government news conferences, giving status updates and offering guidance on such topics as face masks, social distancing, school closures, hospitalization rates and, eventually, vaccines.
Many credit him with helping the country navigate the uncharted waters of the coronavirus crisis with his medical expertise, calm demeanor and signature Brooklyn-tinged gravelly voice.
At the same time, Fauci was navigating his own political headwinds – some from his boss, former President Donald Trump, who tried to play down the threat of SARS-CoV-2 even as he initiated Operation Warp Speed, the $10 billion-plus public-private partnership focused on rapidly developing vaccines as well as therapeutics.
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Plus, many coronavirus deniers, conspiracy theorists and antivaxxers blamed Fauci personally for struggles with school closures, mask mandates and vaccine recommendations. Even now, Fauci recently testified, he still faces death threats.
The pandemic was not the first time Fauci found himself in the center of a political and medical maelstrom. He was in the hot seat during the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s …