KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: What would Dr. Fauci do?

Since the mid-1980s, whenever there's been a public health crisis, America — and six U.S. presidents — have turned to Dr. Anthony Fauci. As director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (one of the National Institutes of Health), Fauci has helped guide the U.S. and the world through the HIV/AIDS epidemic, as well as various flu epidemics and outbreaks of SARS, Ebola and Zika.

Now Fauci is facing the difficult task of navigating the turbulent waters between the outgoing Trump administration and incoming Biden administration in the midst of an escalating pandemic. As a member of the Trump administration's COVID-19 task force, Fauci has taken heat from President Donald Trump and his supporters for delivering news and advice that does not match what the president wants to hear. And with the transition delayed because the federal government has not yet recognized Joe Biden as president-elect, Fauci is not free to meet with Biden's team.

On this special episode of KHN's "What the Health?" podcast, Fauci sits down for an interview with KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal, a fellow physician. They explore the thorny political landscape and discuss how regular Americans should prepare to get through the coming months — as the pandemic surges and we wait for vaccines to become available.

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