Thursday, August 27, 2020

• I wrote an email to Brett trying to make peace: -----Original Message----- From: Fauci, Anthony (NIH/NIAID) [E] <afauci@niaid.nih.gov> Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2020 6:31 AM To: Birx, Deborah (nsc.eop.gov) <Deborah.L.Birx@nsc.eop.gov>; Giroir, Brett (HHS/OASH) <Brett.Giroir@hhs.gov> Cc: Redfield, Robert R. (CDC/OD) <olx1@cdc.gov> Subject: RE: Testing Brett: I am sorry that there was so much press seemingly pitting you against me regarding approval or not of the changes in the CDC guidelines. I want to make something clear from my perspective and hopefully we can move on as good colleagues. According to the press reporting, you stated that the guideline change was "approved" by the task Force including and specifically by me. If what we did was the process for "officially approving" as important a document as the CDC guidelines, then the process is clearly flawed. There was no official "group discussion" at any meetings that I was at. The document was passed around to us individually before or after a TF meeting and indeed I did quickly look at it. I considered the document as a done deal that would not change no matter what we said. To your credit, you did make one minor change that I suggested. Importantly, had I appreciated that Deb, the Task Force Coordinator, had such a real problem with it (see her e-mail below), I would have looked at it much more carefully and discussed her concerns with her in detail, and re-read it in that context. I understand from Deb that a discussion did occur at the Aug 20 meeting (see below) when I was out being operated on at GWU hospital. Upon careful examination of the document now, I see why the community is up in arms about it since that change can and is being interpreted by many as indicating that we do not believe that asymptomatic spread and thus community spread is important enough to test for it. We can argue within the confines of the Situation Room that the intent of the guidelines are clear and crisp and helpful. However, the overwhelming proportion of the public health community are baffled by these changes. This is an unforced error. I am happy to discuss with you. Again, sorry for the misunderstanding. Best, Tony Powder Attack!!! – Today, I received a letter at home from Jacksonville, FL looking like the very many letters that I get each day, usually asking me to sign a baseball card or an index card. The letter had typewritten address as opposed to WORD processor. It was very thin. I brought it o work and around 10:30 AM started opening the “fan mail”. I opened this one and took out a single sheet of white paper that was folder in 1/3s. As I opened the folding, fine white powder essentially shot up for the paper an got on my hands, my tie, shirt ants, face, desk and chair. I immediately called Kim and told her not to come into the room but to get George and Brett (security) who were down the hall. They came and we put the letter and envelope in a plastic bag and called NIH Hazmat. The entire team came and hade me strip naked to spray me down. I then went downstair to take a long shower and put on my running shots to go home with. All my closes and everything that I touched went into a plastic bag for forensics. George and Brett took me home and we waited for the analysis that finally showed no protein (anthrax or ricin). Sheet of paper had typewritten statement: “MANDATORY LOCKDOWNS…MEDICATIONS, REAP WHAT YOU SOW. SIC SEMPER MARXUM PRODITORES. ENJOY YOUR GIFT” Alan Alda and Anthony Fauci Talk Science in Live-Streamed Smithsonian Associates Event PRESS: GOP convention dominating. Yet, much press around the CDC How Dr. Fauci guidelines mess (see above); New York Times: Found Himself Talking to Julia Roberts, Lil Wayne and Just About Any Podcaster Who Asked By Quoctrung Bui, Margot Sanger-Katz, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Noah Weiland and Kitty BennettAug. 27, 2020