Kamala Harris tests positive for Covid-19 but Biden not ‘close contact’
US Vice-President Kamala Harris has tested positive for Covid-19, according to the White House, underscoring the persistence of the highly contagious virus even as the country eases restrictions in a bid to return to pre-pandemic normalcy.
Harris press secretary Kirsten Allen said neither United States President Joe Biden nor first lady Jill Biden was considered a “close contact” of Harris in recent days.
Harris had been expected to attend Biden’s Tuesday morning presidential daily brief but was not present, the White House said. Because of their travel schedules, the last time Harris saw Biden was Monday of last week.
The vice-president returned earlier this week from a week-long trip to the west coast.
“I have no symptoms, and I will continue to isolate and follow [Centres for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines,” Harris tweeted. “I’m grateful to be both vaccinated and boosted.”
She will isolate at her residence but continue to work remotely, and will return to the White House only when she tests negative for the virus.
After consulting her physicians, Harris was prescribed and was taking Paxlovid, the Pfizer antiviral pill, her office said.
The drug, when administered within five days of symptoms appearing, has been proven to bring about a 90 per cent reduction in admissions to hospitals and deaths among patients most likely to get severe disease.
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 last year. She received a booster shot in late October and an additional booster on April 1. Fully vaccinated and boosted people have a high degree of protection against serious illness and death from Covid-19, particularly from the most common and highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Harris’ diagnosis comes a month after her husband, Doug Emhoff, recovered from the virus, as a wave of cases of the highly transmissible Omicron subvariant have spread through Washington’s political class, infecting cabinet members, White House staff and lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Senator Ron Wyden tested positive on Tuesday, his office said.
The White House has put in place strict Covid-19 protocols around the president, vice-president and their spouses, including daily testing for those expected to be in close contact with them. Biden is tested regularly 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 country, according to the CDC.
The unvaccinated are at a far greater risk, more than twice as likely to test positive and nine times as likely to die from the virus as 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 availability of the life-saving Paxlovid, reassuring doctors that there is ample supply for people at high risk of severe 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 Centres for Disease Control and Prevention defines “close contact” with an infected person as spending 15 minutes or more with them over a 24-hour period.
The CDC says a person with “close contact” does not need to quarantine if they are up to date on their vaccines but should wear a well-fitting mask around other people for 10 days after the contact.