Dr. Anthony Fauci has decided to cancel his appearance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, citing the risk of catching the coronavirus.
Fauci was planning to attend the dinner as a guest of ABC News, according to CNN, but the latest contagious variant of the virus appears to have raised enough concerns from the doctor to back out.
Fauci told the New York Times his decision was based on “my individual assessment of my personal risk.”
Others attending the dinner, despite concerns for their personal risk, include Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson as guests of ABC/Disney.
The WHCA announced two weeks ago that proof of a coronavirus vaccine would be required to attend the dinner, citing Fauci’s discussion on ABC News of whether or not the event would be safe.
File/U.S. singer Amanda Palmer arrives on the red carpet for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, DC on April 27, 2019. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Guests of the dinner are required to demonstrate their vaccine status using the Bindle app on their phones to get allowed into the event.
President Joe Biden has already made plans to attend the dinner, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed on Tuesday.
She said Biden would still attend, despite the risk, to demonstrate the importance of journalism.
“It’s an opportunity to honor the work of all of you and many of your colleagues and to talk about the importance of journalism in the world,” Psaki said to reporters on Tuesday.
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