Dr. Anthony Fauci turned down millions to leave government work fighting infectious diseases

As director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci helped lead the U.S. government's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In a wide-ranging interview with CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jonathan LaPook for "CBS News Sunday Morning," Dr. Fauci reveals he was offered millions of dollars to leave his top spot in government to join major corporations. 

The interview will be broadcast on Sunday, June 16 on CBS and streamed on Paramount +.

In his exclusive conversation with Dr. LaPook, Dr. Fauci talks about his work in the COVID-19 fight; his earlier experience helping find answers to the epidemic of HIV/AIDS; his childhood in New York City; his reaction to hostile questioning at a recent congressional hearing; and his new memoir, "On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service" (to be published June 18 by Viking Press).

To watch this excerpt from the interview click on the video player above. 

DR. JON LAPOOK: People have accused you of getting offers of money from pharma and this, that, and the other thing. You have been offered money to leave the NIH, right, and join, say, pharma, right?

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: Right. Or private equity.

LAPOOK: Or private equity. How many times your current salary have you been offered about?

FAUCI: So, at the time that I was getting offered it … I was making $125,000, $200,000. Then I would get offered a job that would get me $5 million, $6 million, $7 million a year. 

LAPOOK: So, why didn't you take it?

FAUCI: Because I really felt what I was doing was having an impact on what I cared about, which was the health of the country and, indirectly, the health of the world, because the United States is such a leader in science, medicine and public health that what we do, indirectly, spills over onto the rest of the world.  And to me, that is priceless.

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For more info:

• "On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service" by Anthony Fauci M.D. (Viking), in Hardcover, Large Print, eBook and Audio formats, available June 18 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org

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