A single line often inverts meaning once you see what it
answers, so neighbouring messages are always shown.
-
Jan. 9, 2013 - Appeared on C-SPAN (TV) and on WTOP radio early this AM to talk about the erupting influenza epidemic.
-
Jan. 9, 2013 - Attended an important dinner at the home of John Monahan and his wife Annie at 3340 - Runneymede Place, N.W., Washington, D.C. to discuss the relationship between PEPFAR and USAID with regard to the new Office of Global Health Diplomacy. John formerly worked in the Clinton Administration and for the past 4 years has been Counselor to Secretary Sebelius in HHS and Acting Director of the Office of Global Health Affairs at HHS. He recently moved to the State Department to help with the Global Health issues there. Hillary Clinton had just established this Office of Global Health Diplomacy and made Eric Goosby (Director of PEPFAR) the Director of the Office with Ambassador Louise Rowe as Deputy. Apparently Raj Shah and the USAID are trying to take control over this new initiative that has just been put out by the Obama administration. Raj has been trying to take over PEPFAR for some time now without success. I have been backing Eric Goosby from the very beginning since I believe that Raj is driven by ambition on the background of a terrible track record of USAID. In the second Obama administration the people in the State Department and in the White House are trying to create a legacy for Pres. Obama with regard to global health. They believe that this new office of Global Health Diplomacy could be the vehicle to do that. Right now it appears that we are engaged in the struggle Raj Shah and USAID wanting to take over the process. The dinner included a number of people with knowledge in the field. Participants included John Montague his wife Annie, Francis Collins, Tom Frieden, Peggy Hamburg, a woman from the State Department (Laurie) who worked in the Clinton Administration, Nils Daulaire, and a number of other people. The plan discussed at the meeting was to help support Eric Goosby is trying to make the office of global health diplomacy a productive and viable enterprise and to ward off any attempts on the part of USAID to take it PEPFAR and the new office. Tomorrow I will go to the State Department for the first of the number of meetings that will address this issue. More to follow on this subject.
-
Jan. 10, 2013 - Did CNN Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer regarding the Flu outbreak. I made casual statement in response to a question by Wolf that the outbreak had passed the epidemic threshold (which was true (7.3% with threshold at 7.2%). Anderson Cooper later on in his CNN show "Anderson Cooper 360" made announcement that NIH Official Dr. Anthony Fauci has now declared the influenza outbreak "an epidemic". The CDC was coming out with their weekly report with a big press briefing the following day (tomorrow) and this must have gotten them pissed with their usual jealousy of my being on TV and the media in issues that they think they own.
-
Jan. 12, 2013 - Did WJLA - Channel 8 news on flu on this Saturday AM. Also, received request that Soledad O'Brien wants me again on her show on Monday AM. This will be the test regarding my above comment concerning Bill Hall.
-
2013-01-14 00:00
Anthony S. Fauci
Jan. 14, 2013 - HHS turned me down on requests from CNN Wolf Blitzer and Soledad O'Brien. I asked John Burklow to call up Bill Hall and find out what the heck is going on and what the reason for all of this is. John told me that CDC complained to Bill Hall and HHS that I was getting all of the publicity on an issue (influenza "tracking") that they considered was their issue. I do not know who at CDC did this. It could be anyone from Tom Frieden (I doubt this) to more likely Tom Skinner (CDC PR person). In any event, it has nothing to do with my use of the word "epidemic" on Wolf Blitzer Show and everything to do with pure jealousy that I am a "rock star' stealing their thunder. Shame on the CDC. Bill Hall promised John Burklow that as the epidemic stabilizes, I will be allowed to do the big shows and that starting now, I can do anything that has to do with the science and vaccine development. In this regard, see below - tomorrow
-
Jan. 15, 2013 - Appeared on the "Situation Room" (CNN) in a piece that featured the quest for a universal flu vaccine. I did the interview from the NIAID Vaccine Research Center. John Mascola also appeared as we showed the CNN crew around the VRC. Very nice piece. Tomorrow I do a 1 hour call in show on WTOP.
-
Jan. 16, 2013 - Did a very successful 1 hour show with call-in on WTOP at 10:00 to 11:00 AM. Rainy day in Washington, D.C. Also, local NBC News and WUSA Channel 29 filmed me during the radio show and I gave on camera interview to them after the show.
-
Jan. 17-23, 2013 - As expected, due to the beginning of drop-off of influenza cases, even though we are in the middle of the influenza season, the press interest has almost completely dropped off the radar screen. Almost no stories this week on the 2012-2013 influenza outbreak.
-
Jan. 23, 2013 - The "60 day moratorium" on gain-of-function research on respiratory transmission of HPAI H5N1 influenza in mammals has been lifted by the scientists who originally signed to moratorium. The moratorium actually lasted just over one full year. We at HHS and NIH have been developing a framework for making funding decisions for this type of research (see above - Dec. 17, 2013). The framework should be ready for implementation in a few weeks and so we can start making funding decisions. Much press coverage today (I was in NY Times, Wall Street Journal, AP, etc.). The nay-sayers who feel this research should not be done at all (David Relman, John Roberts (Nobel Prize winning ass-hole) or should not be published (Mike Osterholm) are still out there bad-mouthing the decision to lift the moratorium.