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The coronavirus is sweeping Washington official, with employees of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris who have recently tested positive for the virus, as a growing number of federal officials continue to reveal their own innovative cases.
Harris, who flew to Los Angeles Wednesday night for a week’s vacation, was in close contact Tuesday with an employee who tested positive for coronavirus the next morning. The vice president, who has been vaccinated and received a booster shot, tested negative twice on Wednesday and will be tested again on Friday.
Symone Sanders, a senior adviser and chief spokeswoman for Harris, said in a statement Wednesday that the staff, which is fully vaccinated and strengthened, had tested negative on Tuesdays, Mondays and all days last week.
“Because the CDC’s guidance does not require that fully vaccinated people be quarantined after an exposure, the vice president will continue with her daily schedule,” Sanders said in a statement Wednesday. She added that Harris and her husband, Second Knight Doug Emhoff, would remain in LA during the New Year.
Another Harris spokeswoman declined to discuss how possible coronavirus exposure could affect her time in Southern California.
Biden, 79, has also had close contact in recent days with an employee who tested positive. The half-hour of close contact occurred Friday aboard Air Force One, the day Biden gave an introductory speech in South Carolina and then flew to Wilmington, Del., Over the weekend.
House Majority Leader Jim Clyburn (DS.C.), the third Democratic leader, was with Biden in South Carolina, where the president addressed the graduating class at South Carolina State University. . Clyburn, 81, who is fully vaccinated and received his booster shot in September, tested positive for coronavirus Wednesday night.
He said he is asymptomatic, but that he received an inconclusive home test on Sunday before his granddaughter’s wedding.
More than half a dozen other members of Congress have said they tested positive for coronavirus this week, including Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland). Each member said he was fully vaccinated and most had received reinforcements.
Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) Said Thursday morning that after weeks of regular testing, “I received bad news last night: I tested positive.”
Coons said he had minimal symptoms and is optimistic he will recover after isolating himself and complying with CDC guidelines. “Like millions of other families,” he added, “it looks like we’ll be struggling with another vacation we spend on Zoom and canceled travel or reunion plans.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week that the Omicron variant of coronavirus is more virulent than previous variants of coronavirus, and the health agency warned that the new variant could be extended to others, even if they are vaccinated or show no symptoms. . The CDC also said that “the recent emergence of Omicron further emphasizes the importance of vaccination and reinforcement,” noting that despite the likelihood of innovative cases, vaccines should protect against serious illness, hospitalization, and death. .
“Innovative COVID-19 cases will become ubiquitous with the Omicron variant,” said Amesh A. Adalja, principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “No one will escape the infection in the long run. However, if you are someone who is fully vaccinated, these cases will be mild and you may not even be asked to call your doctor. This is a good thing and not a good thing. to worry about vaccines protecting us from what matters: serious illness, hospitalization, and death. “
In a speech on Tuesday, Biden warned that the Omicron variant is “a serious and potentially deadly business for unvaccinated people.” The Biden administration also announced that it would deploy 1,000 troops to hospitals, establish additional vaccination sites and purchase 500 million rapid home tests that will be available to Americans for free starting next month.
