WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris has tested positive for COVID-19, her office said Tuesday.
Harris, 57, received positive rapid and PCR tests but showed no symptoms, according to her spokeswoman Kirsten Allen. She will be isolated and will work from the vice president’s residence. Allen added that Harris was taking Pfizer’s Paxlovid antiviral pills, which could reduce the risk of serious illness, according to her doctors.
Harris has not been in close contact with either President Biden or First Lady Dr. Jill Biden because of their recent travels, the statement said, and will return to the White House after testing negative. She was vaccinated and received two booster vaccines.
“Today I tested positive for COVID-19. I have no symptoms and will continue to isolate myself and follow the instructions of the CDC. “I am grateful to have been vaccinated and strengthened at the same time,” Harris wrote on Twitter.
Mr. Biden and Harris spoke on the phone Tuesday afternoon, and the president “wanted to check and make sure he had everything he needed while quarantined at home,” according to the White House.
The vice president’s positive diagnosis comes more than a month after her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, tested positive for COVID-19.
Several other White House staff members, including Harris Communications Director Jamal Simmons and Jill Biden’s spokesman Michael LaRosa, also received positive tests earlier this month, as did senior Washington officials, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. , Attorney General Merrick Garland and Trade Minister Gina Raimondo.
The vice president was scheduled to meet with Mr. Biden at the Oval Office on Tuesday morning to receive a daily intelligence briefing, although she did not attend the meeting, her spokeswoman said.
A White House official told CBS News that Harris went to the White House Tuesday morning and was tested for coronavirus in his West Wing office as part of his regular routine. Harris then left the White House in his motorcade after receiving a positive test.
She last saw the president on April 18, the day of the White House’s Easter egg, then traveled to California, where she spent the week attending events. Harris returned to Washington on Monday from Los Angeles.
In addition to being the first in the presidential line of succession, Harris also played a crucial role in the 50-50 Senate, giving undisputed votes.
“I think if you take a step back and look at the vice president, it’s getting worse, especially twice,” White House Coronavirus Coordinator Dr Ashish Ja told reporters on Tuesday. “We have a very, very contagious option there. It will be difficult to ensure that no one is infected with COVID in America. That’s not even a political goal. ”
While the nation saw a sharp decline in new coronavirus infections after a peak in mid-January caused by the highly contagious Omicron, there has been a slight increase in the last few weeks due to the emergence of Omicron’s new BA.2 subline.
As part of its efforts to protect Americans from the virus and increase access to treatment, the White House announced Tuesday that it is expanding the availability of Paxlovid. First approved by the Food and Drug Administration in December, the pills were in short supply, but since then the supply of antiviral drugs has accelerated.
The White House has also launched more “treatment test” sites where Americans can be tested and, if found to have coronavirus, receive free oral antiviral pills in one visit.
Weijia Jiang and Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.
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