Anthony Fauci
Anthony Fauci, M.D. is the current head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. He has held that position since 1983.
Dr. Fauci is best known for his work on the AIDS outbreak of 1983 and following.
Today his performance is the subject of considerably controversy, in light of the coronavirus outbreak. Critics charge that he uses erroneous models that he does not adequately check, and makes recommendations for "forever" lifestyle changes that any individual patient would naturally refuse.
Contents
AZT
In Bruce Nussbaum's 1990 book, Good Intentions: How Big Business And the Medical Establishment Are Corrupting the Fight Against AIDS, a large portion is about how Fauci, in the late 1980s, used the federal bureaucracy to block all research on the development of a drug to treat AIDS. Fauci pushed his patented Interleukin 2, a derivative of which became the highly toxic and controversial AZT.[1]
In Celia Farber's 1989 expose on the scandal surrounding AZT, Sins of Omission, newspapers across America banner headlined that AZT had been proven to be effective in antibody positive, asymptomatic patients even though one of the main concerns was that the drug should only be used as a last resort for critically ill AIDS patients because of the drugs extreme toxicity. Fauci, head of the National Institute of Health, was pushing to expand its use. The FDA's traditional concerns had been set aside. AZT was already being by an estimated 20,000 people in sixty countries. Not only had no new evidence dispelled the initial concerns regarding AZT's toxicity and safety, but the follow-up data that had been promised was ignored. The beneficial effects of the drug had been proven to be temporary. the toxicity however stayed the same.
AZT had been approved faster than any drug in FDA history, and activists considered it a victory. The price paid for the victory however was that almost all government trials focused on AZT, while over 100 other promising drugs were left uninvestigated. The pharmaceutical manufacturers' stock price went through the roof when the announcement was made. AZT was the most expensive drug ever marketed.
On August 17, 1989 the government announced that 1.4 million healthy antibody positive Americans could benefit from taking AZT even though they showed no symptoms of the disease. New studies have proven that AZT is effective in stopping the progression of autoimmune deficiency syndrome in asymptomatic and early cases.
