Tuesday 22 November 2022 07:35 PM Fauci's White House farewell goes off the rails as reporters ask about COVID-19 ... trends now
Dr. Anthony Fauci made his final appearance in the White House briefing room on Tuesday, triggering chaotic scenes as reporters bombarded him with questions about the origins of COVID-19.
He delivered a message to Americans to get booster vaccines and reflected on his time as one of the country's top scientists, but Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was forced to step in as journalists shouted questions.
'We have a process here,' she said with a glare at a reporter in one of the back rows.
'I'm not calling on people who yell and you're being you're being disrespectful to your colleagues, and you're being disrespectful to our guests.
'I will not call on you if you yell and also you're taking time off the clock, because Dr. Fauci has to leave in a couple of minutes.
'I'm done. I'm not gonna I'm not getting into a back and forth with you.'
Dr. Anthony Fauci returned to the White House briefing room on Tuesday for a final time to urge Americans to get another COVID-19 vaccination as peak winter season approaches
But White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was forced to step in as fractious journalists shouted over one another to ask questions about the origins of COVID-19
'I will not call on you if you yell and also you're taking time off the clock,' she told journalists
It marked the latest clash between reporters and officials.
While television journalists in the front rows can expect to ask questions every day, those sitting further back - or coming armed with awkward questions - feel hard done by when their raised hands are ignored.
The day was meant to mark Fauci's impending retirement. He was returning to the podium where he became a household name at the start of the pandemic, and where he would occasionally contradict President Donald Trump's wilder comments about COVID-19.
The 81-year-old steps down after 54 years of public service
He used the occasion to hammer home a public health message, urging viewers to get the latest booster.
