Dr. Anthony Fauci Tests Positive for COVID and Is ‘Experiencing Mild Symptoms’

Dr. Anthony Fauci

Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images Dr. Anthony Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci has tested positive for COVID-19 and is “experiencing mild symptoms” of the disease.

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) emerged as a calming voice of reason at the height of coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and on Wednesday THE National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced that its director had been infected.

NIAID, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, revealed that Fauci, 81, tested positive for COVID-19 on a rapid antigen test but reassured the public: “He is fully vaccinated and has been boosted twice.”

Fauci, who is Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden, will “isolate and continue to work from his home,” NIAID continued in a statement.

The president is not believed to have been exposed to Fauci when he was infectious. “He has not recently been in close contact with President Biden or other senior government officials,” NIAID continued.

It’s unclear when Fauci is expected to emerge from isolation but his return to work is dependent on subsequent tests.

“Dr. Fauci will follow the COVID-19 guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and medical advice from his physician and return to the NIH when he tests negative,” it was added in the statement.

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anthony fauci

Patrick Semansky/AP/Shutterstock Dr. Anthony Fauci receives Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine

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While Fauci heads up the institute that conducts and supports research on the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, he became somewhat of a celebrity in 2020 when coronavirus hit the United States.

He told PEOPLE that seeing his image on merchandise humored him.

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“It’s surrealistic and, in some respects, nice and amusing,” Fauci said in an interview. “But you can’t take that stuff seriously and start to think you’re a celebrity. When you start to think that, then you get into trouble. I’m a physician. I’m a scientist. And I’m a public health official.”

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Addressing Brad Pitt’s portrayal of him on Saturday Night Live in April 2020, he praised the actor for getting it right even down to the tone of Fauci’s voice and Brooklyn accent.

“I’m definitely not as good-looking as he is but I think he did a great job,” Fauci told PEOPLE.