Anthony Fauci, MD, longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, clarified July 18 that he does not plan to be in his director position at the end of President Joe Biden's current term, but is not retiring when he steps down from that role, according to NPR.
Dr. Fauci, 81, was appointed to the director role in 1984. He is also chief medical adviser to President Biden and the nation's top infectious disease expert.
"I plan to step down from my current position sometime between now and then and to go on and pursue other directions in my professional career," Dr. Fauci told NPR. "That has somehow been interpreted as my announcing my retirement. When I do decide on the date of stepping down I will make a formal announcement."
Dr. Fauci made the clarification after Politico published an interview with him July 18 that drew media reports about his potential retirement.
He told NPR he has not decided exactly when he will leave his government post.