Anthony Fauci, the public face of US' COVID-19 response, handing on baton

Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert for 38 years who became the face of the US' COVID-19 response, announced on Monday that he will resign from his position in December.

The 81-year-old Fauci said he intended to leave to "pursue the next chapter" of his career, devoting himself to traveling, writing and encouraging young people to enter the government service. "We're in a pattern now. If somebody says, 'You'll leave when we don't have COVID anymore', then I will be 105. I think we're going to be living with this," Fauci told Politico in an interview.

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US now has about 90,000 COVID-19 cases daily, but the number might be higher because private tests are not reported. New deaths are averaging about 400 a day. The US has had the world's highest death toll attributed to COVID-19 at 1,035,469.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser and served as an adviser to six other US presidents. Fauci often corrected former president Donald Trump on the virus, saying he did so to benefit the public and "for the sake of preserving my own integrity".

In February and March 2020, Fauci and Trump began to openly disagree with each other at news conferences and in separate interviews regarding COVID-19 procedures.

Trump told Politico in July 2020 that he enjoyed a great relationship with Fauci.

"Dr Fauci's made some mistakes," the former president said.

"He's a little bit of an alarmist. I have a very good relationship with Dr Fauci."

But at a reelection rally in Florida in November 2020, Trump supporters chanted "Fire Fauci", and Trump responded they would have to "wait until a little bit after the election", hinting that he would soon fire him. Trump then told the crowd, many of whom were not wearing masks, that Fauci is a "nice guy but he's been wrong a lot".

'Not perfect' handling

Technically, the president could not directly fire Fauci because he is a career federal employee protected by federal civil service regulations.

Fauci acknowledged that his response to the pandemic was not perfect. "I give advice, according to the best scientific evidence," he told members of Congress in May 2020. "We should be humble about what we don't know."

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, he said there was no need to wear masks to protect against infection from the coronavirus, which turned out to be incorrect. He said he offered that advice because masks were in short supply at the time.

Many, especially conservatives, viewed Fauci as a symbol of lockdowns, masks and mistrust in the government and vaccines, which they fiercely resisted. Fauci received personal threats and was given an armed security team in 2020.

Biden thanked Fauci, whom he called a "dedicated public servant and a steady hand with wisdom and insight".

Agencies contributed to this story.