Cohan: Anthony Fauci got us through this pandemic — and doesn’t deserve the hate

Dr. Anthony Fauci is a hero who led the nation through the COVID-19 pandemic during a time we needed to rely on science and medicine the most.

The nation’s top doctor isn’t deserving of the hate he gets. He continuously addressed the public in layman’s terms, provided steady leadership that Americans could trust and offered facts on vaccines, therapeutics and variants that remain true today.

Even before the pandemic, Fauci dedicated his life to public health, most notably advising seven presidents on HIV/AIDS. He has been instrumental in developing treatments that allow people with HIV to live long, active lives.

Fauci, who is 80, could have certainly retired as the pandemic came barreling through, but he didn’t.

Throughout the course of the crisis, Fauci bumped up against former President Donald Trump in the name of science. Fauci was often the much-needed voice of reason in a cloud of pandemic panic and misinformation.

It wasn’t easy. One of his Feb. 2020 emails, one of thousands recently released via Freedom of Information Act, reads, “This whole coronavirus situation is rather exhausting since I am working 24/7 with no breaks at all. However, it needs to be done since this virus is a true threat to global health.”

Fauci was tired. He is human, which also means he made mistakes like every other human being just trying to do their best in a time of immense pressure and crisis.

Fauci didn’t recommend masking early in the pandemic, and we now know that is a huge tool in stopping transmission.

He also appeared wishy-washy at times, which wasn’t comforting to the public. He and other public health professionals repeatedly told the American public coronavirus wasn’t an immediate threat, which also turned out to be false.

But no one is perfect, and Fauci was — and continues to be — the best public health expert for the job of tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fauci’s recent email release further demonstrates just how dedicated he is to public health.

The emails show he clearly gets an onslaught of messages every day from all corners of the globe and various distinguished people. Yet he often replied to the average Joe writing in to ask for advice. These are the actions of a public servant.

One woman who wrote an email in March 2020 with the subject line “A humble request for your wisdom,” asked about pneumonia vaccination to help with coronavirus, and appeared stunned that Fauci replied back.

“Oh my God … I honestly never expected you to reply and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being so generous!” she wrote.

Fauci isn’t looking for fame and notoriety, either, despite the many media appearances he has been criticized for.

An April 2020 email from a colleague with an article about Fauci’s sudden cult following showed surprise at his sudden celebrity.

Fauci responded, “Truly surrealistic. Hopefully, this all stops soon.”

More than 3,200 pages of Fauci’s emails were released this week. I read the majority of them, and other media combed through them, too. But no big bombshell. No shocking scandal. Fauci isn’t the shady person some make him out to be.

Despite this, Fauci and his family have received death threats and his daughters have even been harassed, which forced him to beef up security, as first reported by The Washington Post last year. He doesn’t deserve this.

After a hellish year and a half, Fauci still isn’t giving up, further proving he is the public health hero. In a March 2021 press conference, he said he will continue doing his job at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases until he feels he can no longer perform his best work.

Thank you, Dr. Fauci. Without you, this pandemic surely would have been a whole lot worse than it was.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3pppmbM