A corona outbreak in the immediate vicinity of the US President calls to mind how present the virus is despite progressive vaccinations. The White House tries to calm down.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki has contracted the coronavirus. She tested positive for the virus on Sunday, said Psaki, who is already vaccinated, in a written statement in the evening (local time).
Business trip canceled
Psaki is currently not accompanying US President Joe Biden on his trip to Europe and, according to his own statements, last met her boss last Tuesday – under special protective measures, as she emphasized.
Biden left for Europe on Thursday to attend the G20 summit in Rome, among other things. From this Monday he is expected at the world climate conference in Glasgow. Psaki had publicly canceled her trip with Biden just hours before Biden’s departure from Washington, initially vaguely citing a family emergency as the reason.
Positive test on Sunday
In her message from Sunday, she said that the background was that a member of her household had tested positive for the corona virus. She then went into quarantine and had herself tested on Wednesday and Thursday as well as on Friday and Saturday. All of these tests would have given a negative result. The test on Sunday was positive.
Psaki said she has not met any high-ranking White House workers since Wednesday. The most recent meeting with the President on Tuesday took place outside – by far and with masks. Biden is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and had a booster vaccination at the end of September.
Psaki: Provide transparency
Psaki emphasized that she was disclosing her test result in order to offer the greatest possible transparency. In view of her vaccination against the coronavirus, she only promises mild symptoms and can continue to work from home. She plans to return to the White House only after a ten-day quarantine and a negative test result.
Infections with the coronavirus despite a vaccination are more common. There have also been several prominent cases of such vaccination breakthroughs in the US government or the US Congress in the past few weeks, for example with Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas. According to experts, anyone who becomes infected despite being vaccinated should usually get mildly ill or not notice anything. In general, vaccination breakthroughs also occur with vaccinations against other diseases.
Psaki not the first corona patient in US politics
But there are also serious issues: In mid-October, the former US Secretary of State Colin Powell died at the age of 84 as a result of complications after a corona infection. Powell was fully vaccinated against the corona virus, it said. According to media reports, he has had health problems for a long time.
Last year, before corona vaccines were available, then US President Donald Trump was infected with the virus and therefore had to be treated in hospital.
dpa-infocom, dpa: 211031-99-812969 / 7
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