WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, the White House said, stressing the resilience of the highly contagious virus, even as the United States eases restrictions on trying to return to normal before the pandemic.
Neither President Joe Biden nor First Lady Jill Biden has been considered a “close contact” with Harris in recent days, said Vice President Kirsten Allen’s spokeswoman. Harris was scheduled to attend Biden’s presidential daily briefing Tuesday morning, but was not present, the White House said.
She had returned Monday from a week-long trip to the West Coast. The last time he saw Biden was the previous Monday, April 18th.
“I have no symptoms and will continue to isolate myself and follow the CDC’s instructions,” Harris tweeted. “I am grateful to have been vaccinated and strengthened at the same time.”
After consulting with her doctors, Harris, 57, has been prescribed and is taking Paxlovid, Pfizer’s antiviral pill, her office said late Tuesday. The drug, when administered within five days of the onset of symptoms, has been shown to lead to a 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to develop severe illness.
Biden called Harris on Tuesday afternoon to make sure she “has everything she needs” while working from home, the White House said.
Harris received her first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine weeks before taking office and a second dose just days after 2021, and she received a booster in late October and an additional booster on April 1. Fully vaccinated and boosted people have a high level of protection against serious illness and death from COVID-19, especially from the most common and highly portable version of omicron.
Harris was diagnosed a month after her husband, Doug Emhoff, recovered from the virus as a wave of high-yielding omicron subdivisions spread across Washington’s political class, infecting cabinet members, White House officials and lawmakers, including the president. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., And Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Tested positive on Tuesday.
Allen said Harris would follow the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “and the advice of her doctors.” It was not immediately clear whether she was being prescribed antiviral treatment.
The White House has introduced strict COVID-19 protocols around the president, vice president and their spouses, including daily tests for those expected to be in close contact with them. Biden is being tested regularly on the advice of his doctor, the White House said, and the latest test was negative on Monday.
“We have a very, very contagious option,” White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Aashish Ja said on Tuesday. “It will be difficult to ensure that no one is infected with COVID in America. This is not even a policy goal. “He said the administration’s goal is to keep people from getting seriously ill.
Ja added that despite the precautions, Biden himself may have contracted the virus at some point.
“I wouldn’t say it’s just a matter of time, but of course it’s possible for the president, like any other American, to get COVID,” he said. “There is 100% nothing.”
Psaki said she “would not expect” any changes in White House protocols.
After more than two years and nearly a million deaths in the United States, the virus still kills more than 300 people a day in the United States, according to the CDC. Unvaccinated people are at much higher risk, more than twice as likely to get a positive test and nine times more likely to die from the virus than those who have received at least the primary dose of the vaccine, according to the Public Health Agency.
Harris was diagnosed when the Biden administration took steps to expand the availability of life-saving Paxlovid, assuring doctors that there was enough supply for people at high risk of serious illness or death from the virus.
In addition to her husband’s diagnosis, Harris was identified as a “close contact” after her communications director tested positive on April 6.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define “close contact” with an infected person as spending 15 minutes or more with him or her for a period of 24 hours. The CDC says people in close contact should not be quarantined if they are up to date with their vaccines, but should wear well-fitting masks around other people for 10 days after contact.
___
Add Comment