Bill Gates Gives Sendoff To Fauci: 'You Are A Hero To Millions, Including Me'

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been the face of the U.S. government's drive against the COVID-19 pandemic, announced Monday he would quit his three federal government positions by December.

Fauci said he would leave his job as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID, which he held for nearly four decades. He is also stepping down from the role of the chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation as well as chief medical advisor to U.S. President Joe Biden.

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Microsoft Corporation MSFT co-founder Bill Gates, who through his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is crusading for healthcare causes, took to Twitter to offer his tributes to the octogenarian.

"Tony, you were an amazing public servant long before COVID-19 struck – and now you are a hero to millions of people, including me," Gates said late Monday.

Ahead of the pandemic, Fauci played an important role in warding off the AIDS threat when it struck the U.S. He went with the strategy of engaging patients and activists along with the scientific community and the government, which helped in expediting the federal response to the deadly disease.