Fauci won't quit until pandemic "is in the rearview mirror"

But Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has led the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases since 1984 and will turn 81 on Christmas Eve, says he isn’t going anywhere.

“I’m the director of the institute that has now been very important in the basic research … that will now have an important impact in the treatment of COVID-19,” Fauci told CBS News in an interview aired Sunday. “That’s what I do.”

Fauci, who also serves as President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said he won’t quit until the pandemic “is in the rearview mirror.” He suggested the nation “can ultimately live with” an infection rate of less than 10,000 new cases per day. The current average is more than 70,000 cases per day.