Dr Fauci is back in action, with a new, smoother voice after surgery to remove a polyp from his vocal cord – and Americans are taking note of his new sound.
Many took to Twitter to express their shock that ‘Dr Fauci’s voice is so different now!’ with some even saying it was nearly unrecognizable.
America’s top infectious disease doctor underwent surgery to remove a benign polyp on his vocal cord on August 20.
Polyps, small soft tissue lesions, can develop as a result of irritation from allergies, fume exposures, trauma, smoking or, in Dr Fauci’s case ‘overuse of the voice.’
As the voice of infectious disease expertise in the US, the 79-year-old coronavirus task force member has been using his a lot since the pandemic came to the US at the beginning of the year.
After a few days off to recover from the surgery, and rest his voice, Dr Fauci made appearances on Good Morning America and the Today show.
After surgery to remove a benign polyp from his vocal cord, Dr Anthony Fauci’s voice sounded notably less raspy – and Americans noticed
Twitter user’s comments on how ‘different’ Dr Fauci sounded when he began making TV appearances again after his surgery
One Twitter user thought Dr Fauci’s voice was nearly unrecognizable
Polyps as well as nodules the vocal cords can cause chronic hoarseness like most of us only experience on occasion after yelling at a concert or sports match.
With the polyp gone, Dr Fauci’s gravelly voice seems have smoothed out.
A few Twitter users even said they missed his signature sound – but were glad he had recovered smoothly.
The physician told the Today show he’d followed doctors’ orders and spent about five days keeping quiet.
But already, he was back to overdoing it by Monday, and could feel the difference.
‘[There were] a bunch of emergency catastrophic White House-related…”crises,” that I had to into animated discussions [for] and I kicked myself after that because it didn’t feel 100 percent great like it did after the five days…so I had to back off,’ Dr Fauci told the Today show’s Sheinelle Jones.
The 79-year-old had general anesthesia during the procedure on Thursday, August 20 and sent CNN medical correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta a text message soon after he woke to say he was doing okay.
‘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,’ Gupta tweeted.
‘Doctors have advised him to curtail his talking for a while to allow his vocal cords to recover.’
Dr Anthony Fauci underwent surgery on Thursday to remove a polyp from his vocal cord
Fauci had general anesthesia during the procedure and sent CNN medical correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta a text message soon after to say he was doing okay
Twitter user Ruthie Kessler commented that she missed the signature gravelly tone of Dr Fauci’s voice
WHAT IS A POLYP AND WHAT CAUSES ONE TO DEVELOP?
A polyp is a a small, soft growth or lesion that can appear on a vocal cord.
When polyps appear on a vocal cord it can cause hoarseness in a person’s voice.
Doctors say it can be caused by ‘vocal abuse’ and can occur in people who speak for a living or those who are prone to screaming or shouting frequently.
Polyps can also be caused by long-term exposure to irritants like chemical fumes or cigarette smoke.
A polyp is a vocal lesion that can cause hoarseness in a person’s voice and is often caused by what doctors describe as ‘vocal abuse’. Polyps can occur in people who speak for a living or those who are prone to frequently screaming or shouting.
Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been the most vocal of the COVID-19 task force members throughout the pandemic.
Dr Fauci told the Today show’s Sheinelle Jones that he’d overdone it following the surgery and wasn’t feeling as good as he had after five days of resting his voice
At the start of the outbreak, Fauci would regularly appear at White House coronavirus briefings alongside President Donald Trump.
He, along with task force coordinator Dr Deborah Birx, have repeatedly faced tension with Trump as the pandemic has worn on after publicly contradicting the rosy picture the president has painted of the virus.
Now, instead of appearing frequently at White House briefings, Fauci has been conducting interviews, testifying in front of Congress and speaking mostly at private events organized by universities and medical facilities.
Back in April, Fauci addressed his hoarse voice after he croaked his way through a live TV interview with the Today show’s Savannah Guthrie.
‘I’m physically fine,’ he said when asked about his own health.
‘All I do all day long is brief people. I just need to keep my mouth shut for a little while and it will get better.’
His surgery came in a week where Fauci participated in a series of interviews and online events related to a variety of different matters concerning the ongoing outbreak.
The most recent speaking engagement was on Wednesday where he spoke a COVID-19 vaccine during a video talk organized by George Washington University.
The coronavirus task force member said he had to engage in ‘animated discussions’ related to the White House following his surgery. Tensions have risen between Dr Fauci and Trump over the last several months
Dr Fauci explains safety and effectiveness of vaccines with GWU
His most recent speaking engagement before undergoing surgery was on Wednesday (pictured above) where he spoke a COVID-19 vaccine during a video talk organized by George Washington University
He already has virtual speaking engagements lined up for next week, including one with the University of California, Berkeley on August 27.
During his most recent appearance, Fauci said the government wouldn’t make any future COVID-19 vaccine obligatory for the general public but local jurisdictions could make it mandatory for some groups, including children.
‘You don’t want to mandate and try and force anyone to take a vaccine. We’ve never done that,’ Fauci said during the video talk organized by the university.
‘You can mandate for certain groups of people like health workers, but for the general population you can’t’ he added, citing the example of the National Institutes of Health, where health workers can’t treat patients without a flu shot.
In a virtual conference hosted by health information website Healthline on Tuesday, Fauci touched on the issue of students returning to school.
He said easing in with virtual classrooms would be better in parts of the country that have a coronavirus infection positivity rate of more than 10 percent.
Fauci said that the default position should be to try and reopen schools for the psychological health of children but added that a unilateral approach to reopening schools could not be taken.
‘To make a statement on one side vs the other and take the country as a whole won’t work – we’re so heterogeneous with the infections,’ Fauci said.