When the AIDS epidemic started in the 1980s, Dr. Anthony Fauci was on the front lines of panic peddling in Washington, D.C. Fauci feared that the disease, commonplace in the homosexual community, would end up killing one in five Americans through casual social contact.
In a paper published by Fauci in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Fauci said, “The possibility that routine close contact, as within a family household, can spread the disease.”
It caused widespread panic about the AIDS virus. Some considered Fauci an alarmist, even back then. His comments inspired a wave of homophobia across America.
After getting his job at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases months later, he reversed his earlier claim, saying it was a “preposterous notion” that AIDS could be spread through normal social contact.
To this day, many who lived in the 80s remember Fauci as an AIDS fearmonger.
Fauci seemingly lived his career waiting for the next virus outbreak to make the news. Each time, he was part of it, often overreacting.
This week, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre introduced Fauci as a man who “Led with the science” at a press briefing, even recognizing his past missteps during the Aids epidemic.
“Our country is stronger and healthier because of his leadership,” Jean-Pierre said.