Some social media users are claiming Dr. Anthony Fauci's sister published a book about the omicron variant of the coronavirus just as it started to spread around the world.
A Dec. 31, 2021, Facebook post shows a screengrab of a book titled "Omicron and the other Covid-19 variants: All you need to know about Covid-19 vaccines and variants." The purported author: "Dr. Angelique Fauci."
"Published on the same day the world health organization named it as a variant of concern," the post reads, citing a Nov. 26, 2021, publication date.
"Yeah, think about that," the post reads. "Angelique is Tony's sister."
The claim appears to stem from a Dec. 15, 2021, tweet, which received more than 500 retweets and 600 likes before it was deleted. But it's false.
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, doesn't have a sister named Angelique β and there's no evidence his real sister has published a book about omicron. The book referenced in the posts was self-published and later removed from Amazon.
USA TODAY reached out to Facebook and Twitter users who shared the claim for comment.
The nation's top infectious disease expert has one sibling named Denise Scorce, according to several Fauci tributes. USA TODAY could find no evidence she has published a book on omicron.
The Associated Press reported the 17-page book...
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