My company was one of the first and largest providers of home IV and high-tech nursing services to the HIV/AIDS community in the late 80's-early 90's, mainly because few wanted to be involved. My mom's business partners that I knew my whole life were Log Cabin gay men, so I had a front row seat to that particular crisis.

I sat on several HIV/AIDS community non-profit boards, one in particular very large and well-managed. Of course these organizations were always begging for money using whatever tactics available.

So in 1991 (I think) Fauci came down for a presentation to the Board. At the time he was pushing the idea that HIV was spread by contact, such as door knobs. Of course folks thought that was ridiculous, said so, but Fauci held his ground. Definitely community spread by contact, he said. Oh, he wouldn't shake any hands, even mine. He had a handkerchief to touch things, like doorknobs.

I'm 6'2". Not a giant, but a large human. Fauci was like a tiny dwarf.

I was not impressed one bit. I thought he was full of Pelosi.

The second encounter was a Board meeting of the same organization, maybe 1990. This time he was pimping for volunteers for a massive study of AZT. My company has 1200 patients at the time, so clearly we were a target-rich environment, and we agreed to give access to volunteer patients if their physician (there were only like 2-3 docs in the area who had an HIV/AIDS practice) agreed. I had no dog in the fight, but know how desperate these poor guys were, so had no problem in helping...even though I didn't trust that Fauci dwarf as far as I could throw him....but kept my thoughts and gut feelings to myself.

Turned out AZT was a killler, and Fauci and his cronies knew it long before. It was also $8000 a year at the time...then the most expensive drug EVER...and few insurance companies would pay for it. Fauci didn't care about the cost. Besides, he was bestest buddies with the Big Pharma Burroughs Wellcome outfit that produced AZT.

It was also very toxic, but the good ole' FDA said "the benefits outweigh the risk." Where have we heard that before?

So Fauci was out pimping a drug that was toxic...it depleted bone marrow in immunocompromised patients, and killed t4 white cells... killed thousands, gave marginal if any benefits, and was the most expensive drug ever produced at the time.

What I understand about the toxicity of Remdesivir is similar to that of AZT...and Fauci pimped both.