Dr. Fauci tests positive for COVID-19

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.

Fauci is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and has been boosted twice, according to the National Institutes of Health. He is “experiencing mild symptoms” and “will isolate and continue to work from his home,” the NIH said in a statement. He was also prescribed Paxlovid, the anti-COVID drug, the agency said.

“He has not recently been in close contact with President Biden or other senior government officials,” the NIH said. “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.”

Also on Wednesday Nebraska’s Gov. Pete Ricketts said that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID and were also experiencing mild symptoms. And on Monday, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he came down with COVID shortly after a meeting with Biden in Los Angeles.

Amid a wave of new cases caused by the Omicron variant, Fauci said in January that “just about everybody” in the United States would be infected. In April, he was asked by CNN journalist Kate Bolduan whether it was inevitable that he would get it too. “I don’t know,” Fauci said. “I am going to try my best to avoid it.”

Fauci was scheduled to brief Congress on the country’s response to the pandemic on Thursday. He will likely do so remotely instead.

Fauci announced last month that he would not stay in his role in the White House if former President Donald Trump wins the 2024 election.