Dr. Anthony Fauci, member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, underwent surgery to remove a polyp on his vocal cord, he confirmed to CNN on Thursday.
Fauci “had an operation today to remove a polyp on his vocal cord. He had general anesthesia and texted me after to let me know he was doing ok,” Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, revealed.
According to Gupta, doctors advised Fauci to “curtail his talking for a while to allow his vocal cords to recover”:
Dr Anthony Fauci had an operation today to remove a polyp on his vocal cord. He had general anesthesia and texted me after to let me know he was doing ok. Doctors have advised him to curtail his talking for a while to allow his vocal cords to recover.
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) August 20, 2020
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, vaguely spoke about the issue in April, telling the Economic Club of Washington, “I probably have a polyp there — the only way to get better is to keep your mouth shut.”
The White House Coronavirus Task Force member has remained in the public eye for months, engaging in a constant stream of interviews since joining the White House Coronavirus Task Force. It remains unclear just how long he will remain out of the spotlight to recover from the surgery.
Fauci, who indicated he intends to vote in-person in November, told Healthline this week he does not see the U.S. mandating a coronavirus vaccination when one becomes available, adding he would “be pretty surprised if you mandated it for any element of the general public.”
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