A trove of emails offers a unique peek into the hectic and demanding life of the nation’s leading infectious disease expert in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
The emails from March and April 2020, published by The Washington Post on Monday, show that – unsurprisingly – many people wanted a piece of Dr. Anthony Fauci as the world began to understand the severity of the coronavirus and its deadly impact.
The list reads like a who’s who of notable people and organizations: the NFL Players’ Association, PayPal, officials in the Office of the Surgeon General in the Army and U.S. Army Medical Command, an adviser to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, U.S. lawmakers, hospital administrators, representatives from foreign governments and even complete strangers.
Dr. Fauci was getting almost 1,000 messages a day, the paper reported.
He tried to answer as many as possible, it seems, and many responses came after midnight.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, seen by many as a scientific balance to President Donald Trump’s guidance, was urged by a senior House Republican to "keep being a science truth teller" amid skepticism about the virus from other GOP lawmakers and Trump himself.
In one exchange with a top Chinese health official about repeated attacks on his credibility, Dr. Fauci responded with assurances: "Thank you for your kind note. All is well despite some crazy people in this world."
Another email to a colleague at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases showed the expert also seemed surprised by the cult following he gained over the course of non-stop media appearances. "Truly surrealistic," he wrote. "Hopefully, this all stops soon."
Later, sending a colleague a link to an article titled "Cuomo Crush and ‘Fauci Fever’ – Sexualization of These Men Is a Real Thing on the Internet," Dr. Fauci said: "It will blow your mind. Our society is really totally nuts."
Many of the emails were very serious, given the tone of the onset of the crisis.
A man described by the paper as a former acquaintance of Dr. Fauci urged the expert to "stand up to power and speak the harsh truth to the people of this country." Responding to the note "within hours," Dr. Fauci said simply: "Thank you for your note. I hear you!"
The emails were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
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