WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, the White House announced, underscoring the persistence of the highly contagious virus even as the United States eases restrictions on an attempt to return to pre-pandemic normalcy.
Harris’s press secretary, Kirsten Allen, said that neither President Joe Biden nor First Lady Jill Biden were considered a “close contact” of Harris in recent days. Harris was scheduled to attend Biden’s daily presidential briefing on Tuesday morning, but he was not present, the White House said. Due to his travel schedules, the last time Harris saw Biden was on Monday, April 18.
The vice president returned Monday from a week-long trip to the West Coast.
Harris tested positive on rapid tests and PCR, but “has shown no symptoms,” the White House said. He will isolate at his residence but continue to work remotely and return to the White House only when he tests negative for the virus.
The White House said Biden called Harris Tuesday afternoon shortly after her diagnosis to make sure she “has everything she needs” while she isolates at home.
Harris, 57, received her first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine weeks before taking office and a second dose just days after Inauguration Day in 2021. She received a booster shot in late October and a booster added on April 1. She fully vaccinated and boosted individuals have a high degree of protection against serious illness and death from COVID-19, particularly from the more common and highly transmissible omicron variant.
Harris’s diagnosis comes a month after her husband, Doug Emhoff, recovered from the virus, as a wave of cases of the highly transmissible omicron subvariant has spread through Washington’s political class, infecting members of the Cabinet and White House employees. and legislators including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., tested positive Tuesday, his office said.
Allen said Harris would follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines “and the advice of her doctors.” It was not immediately clear if he is being prescribed any antiviral treatment.
The White House has put strict COVID-19 protocols in place around the president, vice president and their spouses, including daily testing for those expected to be in close contact with them. Biden is regularly tested on the advice of his doctor, the White House has said.
After more than two years and nearly a million deaths in the US, the virus is still killing more than 300 people a day in the US, according to the CDC. The unvaccinated are at much higher risk, more than twice as likely to test positive and nine times more likely to die from the virus than those who have received at least a primary dose of the vaccines, according to the public health agency.
Harris’ diagnosis comes as the Biden administration is taking steps to expand the availability of the life-saving antiviral treatment Paxlovid for COVID-19, assuring doctors there is an ample supply for people at high risk of illness. severe or death from the virus.
Paxlovid, when given within five days of symptom onset, has been shown to produce a 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to develop severe illness.
In addition to her husband’s diagnosis, Harris was identified as a “close contact” after her director of communications tested positive on April 6.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines “close contact” with an infected person as spending 15 minutes or more with them during a 24-hour period. The CDC says a “close contact” person does not need to quarantine if they are up to date on their vaccinations, but should wear a properly fitting mask around other people for 10 days after contact.
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Reference-news.yahoo.com