On Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases, told CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta that his daughters face harassment due to his public COVID-19 statements. He also opened up about death threats that he has received.
Fauci, who is also a member of the White House coronavirus task force, has offered advice, recommendations, statistics and expert opinions, throughout the pandemic – including his latest tip that Americans wear goggles to help contain the virus’ spread.
As a result of the maltreatment, Fauci said that he employed security to help protect his family.
“Getting death threats for me and my family and harassing my daughters to the point where I have to get security is just, I mean, it’s amazing,” Fauci said.
“I wish that they did not have to go through that… I wouldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams that people who object to things that are pure public health principles are so set against it … that they actually threaten you,” he added.
The top medical expert has been in the line of fire before during a public health crisis, with the 1980s HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Fauci, 79, at the time, was the head of immunology at the National Institutes of Health. He received similar treatment.
He claims that over his five decades as a medical researcher, people have accused him of being a “murderer” and that smoke bombs have been thrown outside of his office window.
