Of course he knew.
SARS-CoV-2 was the result of gain of function manipulation of SARS-CoV-1 at the NIH sponsored lab in Wuhan, China.
SARS1 swept through the world for one year in 2003 and completely disappeared.
Very low infection rate, ~9000 US, with a 10% death rate, ~900 US.
If one recalls, early on in the "pandemic" rhetoric Fauci stated that a 10% death rate was expected.
How displeased he must have been that the millions spent tweaking the virus made it much more infectious but much less deadly, providing only a 1% death rate.
The most ridiculous "safety" devise were those nonsensical 2'x2' plexiglass screens between you and a cashier as if aerosol contaminants only fly in a straight line.
All of the safety protocols, including the vaccine, were intended to offer a false sense of security and intended to increase the rate of illness.
Do not overlook that there exists a great financial personal windfall to Fauci (and others), in perpetuity (forever), that came with the advent of, promotion of, and mandates requiring, the vaccine. This is fact and in no way "conspiracy theory".
Tax money financed the NIH development of a mRNA process that was licensed to big pharma and secured eternal royalty payments for individual scientists employed by the government agency, including director Fauci, instead of the American people as a whole.
Fauci had a direct financial incentive for the evils to which he subjected humanity.