The former top vaccine official in Tennessee and her husband, a school board member in Williamson County, say they are moving to northern Virginia in the fall, amid heightening tension over measures to fight COVID.
Brad Fiscus said in an interview Friday that the move was already in the works before a contentious school board meeting that he took part in Tuesday to discuss mask mandates.
At that meeting, protesters held signs with messages like, “I will not let you muzzle my child,” and “My child, my choice.” Some had to be escorted out by law enforcement. The meeting drew national attention, with President Joe Biden praising health workers who spoke about the importance of masks and were subsequently threatened by protesters.
But Fiscus says the meeting is yet another example of why they feel they have to move — public health has gotten more political in Tennessee during the pandemic.
The move is bittersweet, he says. They had planned to stay in their Franklin home until retirement, then move into an assisted-living community down the street.
But the move to Virginia will afford Dr. Michelle Fiscus, who was fired this summer from her job at the Tennessee’s Department of Health over vaccination efforts, more opportunities to continue working in public health. Plus, she will be able to continue to be a board member for the American Academy of Pediatrics, where she represents both Tennessee and her new state, Virginia, as well as Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Fiscus says he will finish up his school board duties, including ironing out details about masks in school, before their move in October.
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