Fauci Officially Announces US Rejoining WHO

What a difference an Inauguration Day makes.

On the first full workday of the Biden Administration, President Joe Biden fulfilled another campaign promise by following up his newly signed Executive Order to rejoin the World Health Organization. Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden’s newly appointed Chief Medical Advisor thanked the WHO for leading the global pandemic response and vowed to remain a member state.

“Under trying circumstances, this organization has rallied the scientific and research and development community to accelerate vaccines, therapies, and diagnostics,” Dr. Fauci said during a virtual meeting of the WHO’s executive board. “The United States stands ready to work in partnership and solidarity to support the international Covid-19 response,”

On his first day in office, President Biden retracted a decision by the Trump administration to withdraw from the World Health Organization. Dr. Anthony Fauci will lead the U.S. delegation.https://t.co/MkWy6kHUgL

— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 21, 2021

The WHO, Dr. Fauci said, had “relentlessly worked with nations in their fight against Covid-19.”

In a letter sent to United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, President Biden announced he was retracting Trump’s July 6 notification that the United States intended to withdraw from the UN health agency in 12 months’ time.

“The United States intends to remain a member of the World Health Organization,” Biden wrote.

Today, I announced my COVID-19 National Action Plan. We're mounting an aggressive, coordinated, equitable, and professional response to get the virus under control as soon as possible.

— President Biden (@POTUS) January 21, 2021

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed the about-face.

“WHO is a family of nations and we are all glad that the United States is staying in the family,” he told the executive board meeting.

Dr. Fauci also stressed that Washington — long the agency’s top donor — was committed to resuming the funding.

“The United States… intends to fulfill its financial obligations to the organization,” he said.

He said Washington planned to “work constructively with partners to strengthen and importantly reform the WHO”.

Fauci added that the United States was aware of the towering task ahead in reining in the pandemic, which in just over a year has claimed more than two million lives, infected close to 100 million people and eviscerated the global economy.