A Salute to Dr. Anthony Fauci
In November 2010, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci presented the Forum’s inaugural C. Everett Koop HIV/AIDS Health Leadership Award to VADM C. Everett Koop, the 13th U.S. Surgeon General for “Advancing the Nation’s Progress in Fighting HIV/AIDS through Distinguished Service, Vision and Leadership”. It was meant to acknowledge public health leaders with courage. Accepting the award, Dr. Koop gave a memorable speech The Early Days of AIDS: As I remember them describing his days as Surgeon General during the Reagan administration and how the 1986 Surgeon General’s Report on AIDS Report sent to every one of the 107 million household in America, came to be. We named the award after C. Everett Koop because of his commitment to service and leadership throughout his career, but especially at a time when others were loath to refer to the virus and its disease by name. We asked Dr. Fauci to present the award because of his similar commitment to service and leadership throughout the HIV epidemic. In his presentation, Dr. Fauci commented: “Personally, and to many of us in the medical and public health fields, Dr. Koop is a courageous hero……. Chick Koop…. always seemed to do what was the most correct, honorable, and appropriate thing for the health of the Nation and the world”.
In September 2011, Dr. Koop returned to Washington to present the award to Tony Fauci – an appropriate sequel honoring the mutual respect between the two men from Brooklyn. In his presentation, Dr. Koop commented on Tony’s character, work ethic, and devotion to constantly contribute to the health of mankind – the kind of leader the AIDS epidemic was made for
As we salute Tony Fauci for his Distinguished Service, Vision and Leadership not just in HIV/AIDS but across Infectious Diseases, adding our appreciation for his service to the Nation during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is fitting that we reflect on the award named after the most famous Nation’s Doctor for courage in leadership.
- Veronica Miller
