Fauci Deputy Feared Job Loss Over Vaccine Refusal

TL;DR

Emails show Dr. Matthew Memoli, a Fauci deputy at NIAID, feared job loss and license revocation for declining COVID-19 vaccine amid 2021 mandates.
Memoli wrote in 2024 emails that DC threatened his medical license, so he got a Virginia one, and felt coerced as exemptions hung unresolved.
Newly obtained messages reveal internal NIH tensions over mandates, with Memoli now a top official under Trump reflecting on past fears.

The story at a glance

The Epoch Times obtained 2024 emails from Dr. Matthew Memoli, who led a clinical studies unit under Dr. Anthony Fauci at NIAID and declined the COVID-19 vaccine. Memoli described worries about retaliation from vaccine mandates, including threats to his job and medical license from Washington, DC authorities. The story reports this now as part of ongoing reviews of pandemic policies under the Trump administration, where Memoli serves as NIH principal deputy director.[[1]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fauci-deputy-who-declined-covid-19-vaccine-feared-retaliation-emails-6006788)[[2]](https://www.wral.com/story/nih-interim-director-comes-from-its-research-ranks-but-is-known-for-questioning-covid-19-vaccine-mandates/21826004)

Key points

Emails dated Jan. 16-17, 2024, responded to NIAID spokesman questions; Memoli said, “There were times when I was worried about losing my job especially when we first started receiving emails about [vaccine] mandate deadlines.”[[1]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fauci-deputy-who-declined-covid-19-vaccine-feared-retaliation-emails-6006788)
He noted DC “directly threatened to take away my medical license which would have threatened my job,” so he applied for a Virginia license as protection.
Memoli opposed mandates in a July 2021 email to Fauci, calling them “extraordinarily problematic” as vaccines failed against variants and did not stop transmission.
In December 2021, he spoke at NIH Ethics Grand Rounds against broad mandates, fearing it could end his career; some colleagues praised it, but NIAID's Dr. Steven Holland called his views “flawed and flaky” privately.
Memoli and family chose not to vaccinate due to emerging safety issues and variant evasion; he criticized unapproved exemptions as coercive tactics.
No firings at NIH for refusals per spokesman, but Memoli felt leaders let employees “twist in the wind” without final resolution.

Details and context

Dr. Memoli headed the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases clinical studies unit at NIAID during the pandemic, making him a senior figure under Fauci. He publicly questioned mandates in 2021, including a WSJ-reported email to Fauci warning of ethical, biological, and sociological harms.[[3]](https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/vaccine-mandate-debate-makes-it-to-top-federal-research-agency-11636286400) Mandates came via Biden executive orders in 2021, applying to federal workers despite natural immunity debates.

Memoli sought religious exemptions, common at NIH, but none got final approval, leaving uncertainty. He got positive feedback for his ethics talk from some, like Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, but faced pushback; Dr. Julie Ledgerwood defended mandates there.

Now, as NIH principal deputy director since March 2025 after acting director role, his past stance aligns with Trump officials like NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, who said mandates eroded science trust.[[1]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fauci-deputy-who-declined-covid-19-vaccine-feared-retaliation-emails-6006788)

Key quotes

“Washington, DC directly threatened to take away my medical license which would have threatened my job (I need a medical license) so I applied for a Virginia license and protected myself that way.” — Dr. Matthew Memoli, Jan. 2024 email.[[1]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fauci-deputy-who-declined-covid-19-vaccine-feared-retaliation-emails-6006788)
“That is the honest truth. When I gave the ethics grand rounds I thought that might be the last time I gave a talk at NIH and that my scientific career might be over after that.” — Dr. Matthew Memoli, Jan. 2024 email.[[1]](https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/fauci-deputy-who-declined-covid-19-vaccine-feared-retaliation-emails-6006788)

Why it matters

Mandates sparked internal NIH divides, showing even Fauci subordinates questioned them amid variant breakthroughs and transmission failures. For scientists and federal workers, it highlights risks of job and license loss for personal medical choices, fueling ongoing trust issues in public health. Watch HHS or congressional probes into mandate impacts, though outcomes depend on political shifts.