Dr. Anthony Fauci, who became one of the most visible government officials during the COVID-19 pandemic, spent time most days outlining his thoughts on what was transpiring at the time.
Fauci’s diary was collected by the Department of Health and Human Services and released by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) ahead of a hearing with Fauci on July 29.
He wrote in the diary about his time as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases when COVID-19 was detected in the United States in early 2020, and as officials across the country took unprecedented steps in response—including forcing the closure of schools.
Here are some takeaways from that diary.
Detailed Interactions With Trump
Fauci regularly wrote about speaking with President Donald Trump, with early interactions largely positive.
The relationship began to sour over time as Trump pushed for reopening the country and Fauci favored keeping heavy restrictions in place.
“Tony, I really like you, and you know that, but what the [expletive] are you doing?” Fauci quoted Trump as telling him in November 2020.
“You constantly drop bombs on me. Everybody wants me to fire you, but I am not going to fire you, you have too illustrious a career, but you have to be positive. The country cannot stay locked down.”
Diary Undercuts Some Public Comments
Fauci said in a 2022 interview that he had “nothing to do” with schools being closed.
In diary entries, though, Fauci said he recommended closing schools.
“I spoke with Bill de Blasio (Mayor – NYC) and convinced him based on what I was saying publicly and my conversation tonight to close the NYC schools (he had already decided based on what I was saying on TV),” Fauci wrote on March 15, 2020.
“I went on to tell him he should close the bars and restaurants in NYC. He said that he would base this on my recommendation.”
Fauci said that California Gov. Gavin Newsom also shut down schools based on Fauci’s comments during television appearances, citing a conversation between himself and Newsom’s chief of staff.
Wet Market or Lab Leak?
In a 2021 paper backed by Fauci, scientists said that it was implausible that COVID-19 came from a lab.
Fauci has said publicly that he kept an open mind on the origins of COVID-19 but that evidence such as the paper supports a natural origin. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said that the diary entries, as well as messages from the paper’s authors that have since been released, show Fauci “did not tell the American people the full story.”
Besides promoting a natural origin, Fauci has said that so-called wet markets, or markets where live animals were sold, in Wuhan could be the source of COVID-19.
Fauci wrote in his diary on Jan. 26, 2020, that epidemiological and genomic data showed the first COVID-19 infection was in early December 2020 and not connected to a market. “Now we know the market was not the source, it was the amplifier,” he wrote. “Having said that, somewhere the virus jumped from animals to humans.”
But in public, Fauci kept pointing to wet markets.
Suffered Pulmonary Infarction
Fauci in mid-2021 was diagnosed with pulmonary infarction, or the death of part of the lung, according to a diary entry that has since been redacted.
The condition typically results from blood clotting in the lung. Doctors have reported in studies that some patients have suffered blood clots following receipt of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, which Fauci had received six months prior.
Although there was no evidence in the diary that the vaccine caused Fauci’s infarction, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Fox News pointed out the timeline: the infarction followed the vaccination.
“He never told anybody,” Kennedy said.
Pushed CDC Chief’s Override
Fauci pushed the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to override the agency’s vaccine advisory panel when it came to COVID-19 vaccine boosters, according to the diary.
The panel in September 2021 said that the CDC should approve booster shots in a bid to combat waning effectiveness, but only for the elderly and younger people with underlying conditions.
Fauci said he called CDC Director Rochelle Walensky to convince her to overrule the panel and approve boosters for a wider population.
“I explained to Rochelle that if she does not do that she would be forever branded as someone with no leadership capabilities at all and if she did overrule them she could turn lemons into lemonade because she could reclaim her role as a leader since her reputation is one of unfortunately being a very weak leader.”
Walensky ultimately overruled the panel and said many more people could receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster.
Check out Zachary Stieber’s full in-depth report to find out much more.
—Zachary Stieber; Stacy Robinson
BOOKMARKS
Voters in Wisconsin who have already sent in their absentee ballots for the state’s upcoming primary will not be allowed to void them and request a new ballot, a judge has ruled. Two Democrats on the ballot competing for the governor’s mansion, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez and former state official Missy Hughes, recently dropped out of the race.
Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes has also dropped out of Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primary, which is scheduled for Aug. 11. Democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong is poised to face incumbent U.S. Sen. Tom Tiffany (R).
An appeals court ruled on Thursday that the government cannot detain illegal immigrants without a bond hearing. Other courts have ruled differently, so the Supreme Court will probably have to sort it out.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has said its 55 members have unanimously voted to boycott the World Cup in protest of FIFA’s plans to sell stakes to external investors. Check out Rachel Roberts’s latest report to find out why.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has voted 12–11 to send the nomination of Keith Sonderling for labor secretary to the full Senate floor. If confirmed, Sonderling would succeed Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who stepped down in April amid allegations of misconduct at the department, which she denied.
—Stacy Robinson
