On March 4 last year, someone pinged him with a question about whether pneumonia vaccines could offer some protection against acute Covid-19. Fauci responded in detail about an hour later. CNN also obtained a number of mails from February, but many were heavily redacted.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases -- along with a doctor for the National Institutes of Health for over 50 years -- Fauci had worked under six US presidents for example then-President Donald Trump before he became the public face of the federal reaction to Covid-19.
It didn't take long for questions to come streaming in. He had been fielding dozens of mails daily, from staff members, former colleagues, old friends, reporters, producers, actors -- and regular Americans desperate for advice or looking to leave a note of"thanks"
The correspondence offers a rare glimpse into Fauci's hectic schedule and polite, to-the-point demeanor during the time that he emerged as a rare source of frank confrontation inside the Trump government's Covid-19 job force.
But they also reveal the burden that came with the role.
"That is White House in total overdrive and I'm in the middle of it," Fauci composed in a February 2 email published by BuzzFeed. "Reminiscent of post-anthrax days."