Apr 30, 2020

In context

A single line often inverts meaning once you see what it answers, so neighbouring messages are always shown.

1. 2020-04-28 00:00 Anthony S. Fauci open
   April 28, 2020 - Global - 3,000,000/200,000; USA - 1,000,000/56,000 .,100,000/58,000; Meeting with Joe Grogan group in Roosevelt Room. Joe is pissed that the individual guidances for special situations, i.e. restaurants, Child care centers, etc, do not align with the various phases of re-opening. Also, CDC again were late and off on their own regarding guidelines for surveillance. CDC is tone deaf to how everyone feels that they are not up to the task. Briefed Kayleigh McEnany and Mark Meadows about the Remdesivir trial. Mark and Kaylee agree that I should announce this at a presser tomorrow. I warn Mark that we cannot allow the POTUS to ad lib and over-promise since I will be very conservative. Called up Mersad Parsey at Gilead out of courtesy to infrom him that I will be announcing this at the Presser. Amazingly, (or not) he asked me to hold off until Thursday informing the PIs at the sites tonight so that they can formulate a statement and policy to not allow an unfavorable or too favorable response of the Stock Market. I immediately told him that no way do I want to discuss the stock market with him and this was inappropriate. He backed off. PRESS: Bloomberg News (John Lauerman, print); Economics Club Podcast with David Rubenstein; Ryan Zimmerman Podcast; New York Times Sports Editor print interview; CNN "The Lead" with Jake Tapper.
2. 2020-04-29 00:00 Anthony S. Fauci open
   April 29, 2020 - Global - 3,000,000/203,000 USA - 1,100,000/58,000; Eventful day. Was supposed to present the Remdesivir findings at the usual 5:00 PM press conference at the WH. Marc Short called me when I was at NIH office and said to rush down to Wh since the POTUS was going to have a press availability with John Bell Edwards (Democratic Governor of Lousiana). George Adams drove me down to Wh with lights flashing and we got there in 17.5 minutes (Yikes). I present the data to multiple cameras in the Oval Office with POTUS sitting there. POTUS took me aside and said"Be enthusiastic, Tony. Be Optimistic, we need to open up the economy. It is very important". I told him that I would tell it like it is. He nodded OK. I gave ameasure, accurate presentation. Great success. In afternoon, HHS (with Paul Mango, Alex Azar, Bob Kadlec, Peter Marks, Bob Johnson, Francis Collins, Bruce Tromberg) presented our new vaccine strategic plan to the TF led by Deb Birx. Deb immediately tore everything apart (somewhat overly done). Poor Peter Marks took the brunt of it. She said we should have brought in all the companies that have a track record with their platforms and guided them and funded them to go after COVID-19 instead of .,030,000/6 1,000; waiting for companies to come in themselves and ask for money. She does not like "newer technology" such as mRNA, DNA, and even some virasl vectors. She likes antigens, whole killed, etc. A bit overdetermined in her prejudice. However, she did have a point that btu did not fully realize that this is the problem that I have had with BARDA for years. They just give out money without coordinating anything. Very tense meeting!! The rest of the world still pushing that we are not doing enough testing. Clerarly a trend towards the Comms folks (Kayleaigh and Alyssa) focusing on economic re-entry and trying to hold back to POTUS from his disastrous press confererences and so the pressers are being cut back. None today; only the above Oval with Gov. Edwrads Becoming rather friendly with Jared. Clearly, he respects me PRESS: Made presentation at presser in Oval Office on the ACTT-1 trial. Got picked up by multiple networks/cable.
3. 2020-04-30 00:00 Anthony S. Fauci open
   April 30, 2020 - Global - 3,020,000/210,000; USA - 1,030,000/61,000; New York Times had my picture and front page of Sports Section today with the headline saying that I believe that professional sports may need to be cancelled this season. That was not what I said. Like I said clearly in the Ryan Zimmerman interview, it would depend on the status of the virus in any given City. We could do sports only on TV or we could have the stadiums half full or completely full or not at all. They headlined the latter. The media frenzy continues on and on with me: We Tl COMIMTMIMITY Gaps Ca Tee CCL (AL. POLE WEL STTIMETAL fi mon tangible needs. Healthy Living and Social Respon- about the YMCA al warw Tucson MCA org MY VIEW: David Fitzsimmons Contact editorial cartoonist David Fitesimmons at 573-4234 or tooner@tucson.com URETH HE LEADETH Us IN THE PATH OF SCIENTIAC PEASON foe cum SPECIES SAKE. VeATCUaI WE WALKTHROUGH THE WALLEY THE SHADOW oF COVID-19 WE WILL PO NOD MCTER Uae us; AMEN Lifting stay-home order too soon jeopardizes the gains achieved The following colummistheopin- situation. Arizona's largest counion and analysis of the writers. ties are just approaching the peak y, z By Felis pore Sher lis j a i og ti ints ft itp= ? Announcement today that Joe Grogan will resign as Director of the Domestic Policy Council on May 24 (3 weeks). Another example of the changes that Mark Meadows is making along with shaking up the Comms group. Amazing story about me in Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/williammeehan/2020/04/30/anthony-s-fauci-md-part-iiithe-7-principles-of-faucian-leadership/#7b76aef7313d Had another tense meeting in Roosevelt Room led by Joe Grogan and Deb. Deb. again attacked (somewhat justifiably) the lack of leaderhip at HHS central. Steve Hahn piled on too even obliquely criticizing Azar. Problem is that we are suffering now from the weakness and complete inadequacy of BARDA. We (NIAID - particularly John Macola/Cliff and Carl can do the massive masterprotocol trial of multiple candiates. The central leadership is lacking. Alex has failed to hold Bob Kadlec responsible and Bob has completely delegated BARDA to a group of weak people who are fixed in ways that you can get awaywith in normal times, but defimitely not when you are in a global health crisis wher the country and the world depends on us to develop a vaccine and therapies. Right now, vaccine is critical. I will meet tomorrow with Francis, Cliff and John to plan how to handle this. Did a Zoom call with a whole host of movie stars and athletes organizef by Kim Kardashian: Here is the list 1.Michael Kives 2.Lydia Kives 3.Nico Mizrahi 4.Ben Schwerin 5.Eric Stonestreet 6.Jamie Schneider Mizrahi 7.Kate Hudson 8.Mikey Hess 9.Katy Perry 10.Orlando Bloom 11.Chris Rock 12.Scooter Braun 13. Yael Cohen 14.Chris Paul 16.Josh Gad 18.Misha Nonoo 19.Dwayne Wade 20.James Corden 21.Gwyneth Paltrow 22.Ashton Kutcher 23.Mila Kunis 24.Kevin Durant 25.Kendall Jenner 26.Kim Kardashian 27.Ariana Grande 28.Paula Abdul 29.2 Chainz 30.Michael Buble an 100,000/63,000 ), 3.67M) that NIAID Director Dr. Anthony 00,000/65,000' 31.Usher 32.Demi Lovato 33.Brad Falchuk 34.Michael Jordan PRESS: NBC Today Show with Savannah Guthrie; Zoom call with Hollywood stars; CNN Coronavirus Town Hall with Sanjay Gupta and Anderson Cooper
4. 2020-04-30 00:00 Anthony S. Fauci open
   Apr 30, 2020 Jun19,2020 Aug8,2020 Sep 27,2020
5. 2020-04-30 00:00 Anthony S. Fauci
   Apr 30, 2020
6. 2020-05-01 00:00 Anthony S. Fauci open
   May 1, 2020 - Global - 3,090,000/218,000; USA - 1,100,000/63,000 Mike Caputo is delighted with the event last night. It is interesting that he is one of my greatest fan and he is sincere. So different from some of the shit I took during the esarly years of the Obama administration with that asshole Jenny Bacchus who always hesitated to put me on TV until Denis McDonough and Lisa Monaco of the White House intervened. And the media blitz goes on: Dr. Anthony Fauci And Andrew Cuomo Remain The Most Trusted Leaders On Coronavirus, While Donald Trump And Jared Kushner Are The Least Trusted. Grace Panetta writes for Business Insider (4/30, 3.67M) that NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci "and Gov. Andrew Cuomo remain the most trusted leaders Americans look to for official advice on the coronavirus crisis, while President Donald Trump and White House advisor Jared Kushner still rank at the bottom." Consumers' "levels of trust in the top officials' handling of the crisis [have] remained remarkably steady across...three surveys." .................................................................................................................. Had Zoom talk with Mike Lerner (owner of Nats)and Ted Leonis (Owner of Caps, Mystis, Wizards). Long conversation with them about opening up the sports seasons, particularly, imminently the Nats. I gave them the usual discussions. They want me to throw out the 1st ball at Nats stadium and drop the puck at the Hockey game, etc.
7. 2020-05-01 00:00 Anthony S. Fauci open
   May 1, 2020 at 5:34 p.m. EDT Biden accused of groping a woman (Tara Reade) in his Senate office decaades ago. Yesterday Peter Staley called me up and said that some (? how many) members of the scientific and old activist community are disappointed in me for appearing in the Oval Office with the announcement of the Remdesivir results, making it a political thing used by Trump. I can see theor point, but I had not choice (see above). I rectified that yesterday (later in the day)( when at the TF meeting, Jared Kushner arranged to have a photo op in the Oval Office celebrating the domnation of >1 million doses of Remdesivir to the USG to distribute to people who needed it. They wanted me, Bob Redfield, Deb, and Azar to pose for photos with the POTUS and the CEO of Gilead. I asked Narc Sort to step out of the Sit Room and I explained that I could not do this since my colleagues would say (and so would I) that I am seting ovrer the line. I explained to Marc the aversion scientists (of any political persuasion) have for politicizing science. He understood completely and we wen back inot the room and I told the VP the same thing and he wa very supportive. Deb and Bob were clearly not happy with what I did, likely because they also felt uncomformtable, but had no choice since they are political appointees. Such is life. I made the correct decision. More of the constant surrealness. Here for Mother's Day 12:44 7 e > @) <Back DrFauciandYourMom "~ \/ We Love Dr. Fauci (so does Brad Pitt) Perfect for Dr. Fauci fans, our chocolate covered caramels combine sweet and salty for the perfect taste. Chouquette loves to give back - we will donate $2 per box of 5 to Doctors Without Borders. We also have Health Care Heroes and Positive Thoughts designs - email us for a pic - NOTE: our blue is more W = a I USA -- 1,130,000/66,000
8. 2020-05-02 00:00 Anthony S. Fauci open
   May 2, 2020 - Global - 3,200,000/225,000; USA - 1,100,000/65,000' Big push on the part of states >32 to rush to reopening, some like Texas and Georgia more than others. Militia-types in Michigan going to the Capitol armed and demanding of the Governor to "open up" Michigan. Much stress about the economy being destroyed. White House not allowing me to respond to request from Rosa DeLauro to testify before the House Committee. Makes front page news everywhere together with tweet storm. WH will allow me to testify before the Senate Help Committee. Situation very tense: Economic Policy White House blocks Fauci from testifying before House panel, committee spokesman says An Appropriations subcommittee sought to call the health official to testify next week Anthony S. Fauci in early April. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) By Erica Werner and Mike DeBonis
9. 2020-05-03 00:00 Anthony S. Fauci open
   May 3, 2020 (Sunday) - Global - 3,300,000/230,000; USA - 1,130,000/66,000 Continued big push tio re-open despite many states lacking the criteria to do so. Not on any Sunday shows. Washington Post article today states that the administration is cutting down media appearances by Deb and me and giving more to the economists, Kudlow, Mnuychin and Hassett. Theyare cutting me more than Deb. Fauci-maddness continues with multiple articles and every sort of paraphernalia and restaurant and foods named after me. Amazing aryicle in USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/03/coronavirus-white-houseexpert-dr-anthony-fauci-americans-trust/3042991001/ Straight-talking Dr. Anthony Fauci is the voice Americans want to hear right now. So, who is he? Marco della Cava USA TODAY AD 5:37 Dr. Anthony Stephen Fauci didn't grow up wanting to be famous. Mostly he just wanted to make a difference. But now a lifetime of service has flicked on a searing spotlight. Perhaps not since the late actor Jack Palance did one-armed push-ups at the 1991 Oscars at age 73 - YouTube it, millennials - has the nation been this seduced by a senior citizen. By virtue of his calm, Brooklyn-inflected White House briefings on coronavirus that frequently if diplomatically contradict statements by President Donald Trump, Fauci, 79, has become a meme, spawned fan clubs and been lovingly parodied by Brad Pitt. Fauci's longtime official title is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a part of the National Institutes of Health. But since becoming the face of this country's COVID-19 pandemic, the career immunologist who has battled everything from AIDS to Ebola is increasingly referred to as America's Doctor. And he's in the headlines again this week, having been barred by the White House from addressing House lawmakers Wednesday on the topic of the administration's response to the crisis. Instead, Fauci will meet with a GOP-led subcommittee on May 12. So just who is Tony Fauci? Interviews with friends and colleagues offer overlapping descriptions of a man as dedicated to hard work - endless hours peppered with power walks - as he is to his wife, scientist Christine Grady, and three accomplished daughters. They describe a man who takes as much pride in his Bolognese pasta sauce (the key, one friend says, is the long-simmering time) as he does in enduring relationships. He's a burger and beer at the bar guy, but also a public servant built for our trying times. "Tony's capable of elevating his game to whatever is needed, and more has been demanded of him now than in any time in his career," says Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. "In the eyes of the American public, he's the voice we need right now, one of credibility." infolded in the US Steven Gabbe met Fauci when both were at Cornell Medical College in New York City in the late 1960s, and "the person you see now on TV is the same guy I met back then, smart and humble." Gabbe, emeritus CEO of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, lauds his friend's sense of humor. "I'm sure he finds it entertaining that there are bobblehead dolls of him now," he says. "But he's so grounded I don't think it would go to his head." Fauci would be excused it if did. In a recent survey of 1,900 registered U.S. voters, Morning Consult asked respondents whom they would trust "a lot" or "some" to end social distancing. Fauci and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention topped the list among all voters with 71% trust ratings. Get the Coronavirus Watch newsletter in your inbox. Stay safe and informed with updates on the spread of the coronavirus Delivery: Varies Your Email Three months in:A timeline of how COVID-19 has unfolded in the US Such a high-profile status inevitably also has generated criticism. Right-wing pundits have assailed how shelter-in-place guidelines he supported have impacted the economy, leading conservative internet TV host Bill Mitchell to tweet "this Dr. Doom Fauci is the most depressing idiot I've ever listened to." That harsh assessment has some grounding in a real issue, says Jonathan Engel, professor at the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College, part of the City University of New York system. Sign up for our newsletter now. "Cost-benefit analysis is not the way Fauci thinks, he's a physician and immunologist," says Engel. "So that's where the frustration in some red states comes from. You're saving lives, but you're also destroying lives. Someone else needs to be there to step back and think about the whole picture, but that's not Fauci's role." Get daily coronavirus updates in your inbox:Sign up for our newsletter now. Critics ask: Did Fauci 'miss it'? Even some fellow scientists who praise Fauci's professional accomplishments suggest not only that he was late sounding the alarm, but that having one celebrated virus point person is dangerous. "In January, February and part of March there was one physician on show after show, him, and while he's great at explaining things, in terms of telling the country to get prepared, he missed it," says Marty Makary, professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "My concern is not with Anthony Fauci as much as it is in a media and policy world that puts its faith in one person." A SECON? OPINION... If anything, Fauci's rise highlights the fact that no one person regardless of their stature - his laurels include almost every scientific accolade short of a Nobel Prize - should hold all the reins when it comes to national and global pandemics. "Tony's taken on this big role in part because of the vacuum that exists," says David Relman, a Fauci friend and professor of medicine at Stanford University. "But what if the next pandemic destroys our food? Or a bioterror attack?" he says. "We need a new leadership system that sits inside the White House, where people have the authority to tell the Attorney General what to do, or the Federal Reserve or the Secretary of Defense, so you can move fast. Tony can't do that. No one can. The system needs to change." Fauci's current national stature indeed appears unique in U.S. history, says historian Douglas Brinkley of Rice University in Houston, citing past examples that fall short. In the late 1700s, a yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia caused President George Washington to flee the city, leaving in charge the preeminent doctor and fellow Founding Father, Benjamin Rush. When President Woodrow Wilson got sick while visiting Paris during World War I, many scholars believe his physician and his wife were running the country for a spell. "So you have moments when doctors have become the voice of the country, but nothing like this," says Brinkley. "The straight talking Fauci is what you want to hear, much like if you go to a doctor you don't want spin or blarney." Brinkley says after the coronavirus pandemic starts to recede, Fauci is likely to go down in history "as one of few scientists who are now household names." Some suggest Fauci enjoys this new spotlight too much. Although an NIAID press officer said Fauci was too busy for an interview, the doctor's media appearances are frequent and varied, from network news and comedy shows to online interviews with sports icons such as basketball star Steph Curry. Fauci Pouchys and 'Docta Fauci' And yet the public can't seem to get enough. The Anthony Fauci Fan Club on Twitter has 24,000 followers and a pinned tweet that reads: "If you don't have a crush on this man, do you even care about public health?" New York-based singer Missy Modell rewrote the lyrics to Lady Gaga's 2008 hit "Paparazzi" to rhyme with "Docta Fauci." Her Instagram hit includes the line, "Tony, there's no other superstar except for Andy," New York governor Andrew Cuomo. Fauci's likeness is splashed on coffee mugs, T-shirts and even donuts. In Washington, D.C., the town Fauci calls home, Capo's Speakeasy teamed up with a real estate company to sell Fauci Pouchy to-go drinks, cocktails in seethrough sealed bags emblazoned with the doctor's image. At Chef Geoff's in northwest D.C., Fauci and his wife, a nurse bioethicist at the NIH, are regulars who in pre-virus times would pull up bar stools and order Chef Geoff Burgers and beers, says owner Geoff Tracy. He posted a sign warning take-out customers, "Dr. Antony Fauci is a long time guest and he wants SIX FEET." "He's a genuinely nice human being, and I deal with a lot who aren't sometimes," says Tracy, whose wife, CBS anchor Norah O'Donnell, has interviewed Fauci over the years. Tracy says Fauci's sudden ascent into the pop culture firmament doesn't surprise him. But he doubts it phases Fauci. DR ANTHONY MAUCI IS A Lomo TIME GUEST AND HE WANTS SIX FEET Pom THE GAPOTY Ge ak OF Un oer BAO Ce Ge he ec, Boe = eb ob ee ee FS -- "My father-in-law is an infectious disease doctor, and these guys not about picking fights or the limelight," says Tracy. "They're about sharing information and guiding you. And no one's better at that than Tony." Fauci recently told an interviewer he appreciated the way "classy" actor Brad Pitt played him on a recent Saturday Night Live stay-at-home broadcast, this after Fauci said in an interview that Pitt would be his top choice for someone to impersonate him on the show. But friends note celebrities don't really phase him. Stanford professor Relman, who focuses on microbiology and immunology, recalls talking to Fauci about the time U2 singer Bono, who has focused his philanthropy on Africa, wanted to discuss disease issues with Fauci. vernors "Tony thought it would cause too big a scene at the NIH, so he just told Bono to come over to his house," says Relman. "Bono did, but Tony forgot that that might completely freak out his daughters, which it did. Those are just his circles. His ability to talk honestly about important matters causes people to seek him out." Study:Americans trust Fauci more than Trump or their own governors Fauci's hoop dreams dashed by height Fauci grew up in Brooklyn the grandson of Italian immigrants. His parents ran a pharmacy. He did deliveries on his bicycle, while his older sister Denise ran the register. In past interviews, Fauci hasn't revealed much about his hard-working upbringing except to say that it laid the foundation for a life ultimately devoted to science and public service. Fauci went to Regis High School in Manhattan, which required commuting for hours on buses and subways. Although a stand-out basketball player, his height, 5-foot-7, prompted him to look for a career outside sports. For college, he attended Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, which like Regis was run by Jesuits, whose educational philosophy seeks to meld spirituality - Fauci is a lifelong Catholic - with social justice. The experience was formative, says Eric Goosby, a distinguished professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who met Fauci in the 1980s and has been a frequent guest at his friend's pasta Bolognese dinners. ("He'll call me days before to make sure I'm still coming," he says with a laugh.) "Tony was deeply affected by exposure to the Jesuit order, which fostered in him a self-expectation of service," says Goosby. "This guy goes to sleep and wakes up asking, 'Have I done everything I can do?' It's in his DNA." As is a fierce work ethic. In summers during college, Fauci worked construction. As the story goes, one job found him helping on a new building at the Cornell Medical College. Fauci vowed one day he would be an alum, and made it happen. "That story says it all to me," says his friend Gabbe. "He just has this powerful drive that won't be stopped. The same thing happened when he graduated and told people he was going to the NIH to study infectious diseases. People told him they were all conquered, this was a career-killer move. Not long after, AIDS hit." Fauci's role in the AIDS epidemic changed him. At first, he tackled the growing crisis with a measured, data-driven approach to trying to find a treatment. But that methodical tack infuriated gay activists watching friends die daily. "Initially, Fauci was very rigid in his approach to AIDS and people like (gay rights activist and playwright) Larry Kramer got in his face, calling him the worst things," says Baruch College professor Engel, who wrote "The Epidemic: A Global History of AIDS." "And to Fauci's credit, he got it and he changed." Fauci had been seen as the detached scientific face of an uncaring administration led by President Ronald Reagan, late to understanding the scope of the AIDS crisis. Fauci started to meet with members of the gay rights community and quickly understood the need to include those who were suffering in finding a solution. Goosby, who was running of one the nation's first AIDS clinics in the late '80s, recalls attending a meeting with Fauci in Washington, D.C. The gathering was attacked by ACT UP activists, who locked the meeting's attendees, there to discuss new drugs to fight HIV, inside the hall with chains. "A lot of us were nervous and scared of possible violence," Goosby recalls. "But Tony looked at us and said, 'This is our chance to learn about the frustrations of the community. It's an opportunity for us to learn and serve.' I'll never forget that." Fauci turned enemies into allies That shift in attitude - away from the rigidity of scientific pursuits and towards an embrace of the human reality - soon turned enemies into lifelong friends, says Matt Sharp, a San Francisco-based AIDS survivor and activist who was part of many ACT UP protests in the nation's capital aimed at calling out Fauci. "What developed was a very interesting mutual respect, where you have a hero who once was an enemy," says Sharp. "Once we got him to relate to us and our reality, trust was established. Today, the AIDS community is glad he's the one leading this effort right now." Over what is now nearly a 50-year career with the NIH, Fauci has worked for presidents as philosophically wide-ranging as Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, helping them through crises that included the post-9/11 anthrax scares, SARS in 2003, H1N1 in 2009 and Ebola in 2014. Those who know Fauci marvel at how he keeps his political leanings private. "I honestly don't know if he's a Democrat or Republican," says Sharp. "But I know he's got an amazing grace and an ability to cut through the b-----. That's his genius." That skill is particularly valuable now, as Fauci continues to navigate his truthtelling role for a president whose response to criticism often is dismissal. "He has always had a knack for telling it like it is, and letting the political chips fall where they may," says Stanford's Relman. "Don't forget, Tony Fauci is proud card-carrying New Yorker. He has a blunt, endearing and no-nonsense New York attitude, and I think Trump kind of gets that." Indeed, a brief #FireFauci firestorm that flared in the wake of Fauci appearing to show exasperation at the president's coronavirus remarks ended with Trump saying Fauci wasn't going anywhere. That's probably just fine with Fauci. He may not get much sleep these days, and he's contending with political forces dueling over just how much reopening the country will lead to another coronavirus case spike and then more shutdowns. But friends insist he'd wouldn't want to be anywhere other than in this hot seat. Says Osterholm of the University of Minnesota: "I would go so far as to say Tony's been the right man for the job for several decades now." The recipe for that success perhaps can be found in remarks Fauci made around this time in 2016 to the graduating class at Ohio State University. Fauci started out by telling the graduates - in his trademark Brooklyn patois that made "honor" sound like on-AH and "poverty" like PAW-vaty - that if they're like him, they'll soon forget every word their commencement speaker said. Then over the next 12 succinct minutes, Fauci laid out five credos to live by: Be a perpetual student, expect the unexpected, embrace public service, lead by example, and, finally, pursue happiness. As prescriptions go, Fauci has taken his own medicine. When he is at that West Wing lectern, he seems to radiate a sense of satisfaction at simply being of service despite the attendant slings and arrows of the post. "Different pursuits provide joy," Fauci urged the gradates. "Find your source of joy, and embrace it." ................................................................................................ ..... Important and somewhat ridiculous issue with Pence wanting to come to NIH to thank the people at VRC and show his appreciation. He got into trouble at Mayo Clinic last week since he went there and did not wear a mask when everyone lse had a mask on and the press killed him. I had an agreement with Marc Short that the VP would come to the VRC on Tuesday , April 5 and go upstairs and meet the scientists. The rules of VRC are that masks must be worn in the labs. Marc said that the VP would wear a mask in the labs, but when we go downstairs to the lobby to have TF meeting followed by presser, that he would not have to wear a mask since we never wear masks at TF New York Times and among several. 142,000/67,000 ~ to thank people in the meetings. All was well until Olivia Troye called me in a panic today saying that the POTUS does not want the VP to wear a mask since it is a bad optic for opening up (I cannot understand this reasoning). Nonetheless , the VP will not wear a mask and so we are saying that he should not come. I refuse to give in. Poor Olivia is caught in the middle. We shall see what happens. PRESS: Several articles about me in print papers - New York Times and Washington Post among several.

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