Vice President Kamala Harris said she had “no symptoms” after being diagnosed with COVID-19, but some medical experts were puzzled after it was revealed she was taking an antiviral pill to treat patients with severe cases.
Harris’ office said Tuesday that the vice president was prescribed and used Pfizer’s Paxlovid after consulting with her doctors just hours after she tested positive for the virus.
Paxlovid is intended to reduce severe symptoms in high-risk patients, leading some experts to question why it should be prescribed to a healthy, double-boosted and asymptomatic 57-year-old patient.
“Asymptomatic covid and lack of medical problems are not an indication of Paxlovid,” tweeted former surgeon general Jerome Adams.
Jonathan Rainer, a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, has raised a similar issue.
Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams said there was an “indication” that Vice President Kamala Harris was accepting Pfizer’s Paxlovid for COVID-19. AP / Andrew Harnik Paxlovid reduces severe symptoms in high-risk patients with COVID-19.REUTERS
“Why give Paxlovid to someone without symptoms?” He tweeted on Wednesday.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki was asked how Harris’ prescription seemed to contradict the guidelines of COVID-19 White House Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Ja to give it to patients at high risk of developing a severe case.
“Well, he also told her that you should consult your doctor, and she consults her doctor,” Psaki said.
“She was given Paxlovid. This is something that many Americans are eligible for. They should also consult their doctor. And I think we are generally grateful that this is an approved drug on the market that many people can benefit from, including the Vice President.
White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Ja spoke at the White House daily briefing in Washington, DC, April 26, 2022. AP / Susan Walsh
Rainer said the vice president’s easy access to antiviral treatment, which is under emergency use by the government, underscores the nation’s health inequalities.
[Paxlovid’s EUA] “It’s for people with a moderate to high risk of severe complications,” he wrote. “The vice president is clearly not eligible for the EUA.”
Celine Gunder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist who advised Biden’s White House on COVID-19, told Politico’s West Wing Playbook that preferential treatment for vape was not “unreasonable.”
Pfizer’s Paxlovid pill is manufactured in Freiburg, Germany. Reuters
“We know that the way presidents or, in this case, vice presidents are treated, is not necessarily the way ordinary people are treated,” she said.
“It’s not just about what’s best for this patient – it’s about what’s best for the nation.
“I have no symptoms and will continue to isolate myself and follow the CDC’s instructions,” Harris tweeted Tuesday. “I am grateful to have been vaccinated and strengthened at the same time.”
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