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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) arrives for an event on Capitol Hill on April 14, 2021. AP Photo/Susan Walsh
A White House official and an aide to Pelosi have both tested positive for COVID-19, per Axios.
The Pelosi aide led a group of Texas state Democratic legislators around the Capitol this week.
The White House official and the Pelosi aide attended the same reception last week.
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A Biden White House official and an aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have both tested positive for COVID-19, according to Axios.
The Pelosi aide led a group of Texas state Democratic legislators, who had fled the Lone Star State for Washington, DC, to deny Republicans a quorum on a restrictive voting bill, around the Capitol this week, according to the report. Last weekend, five of the state legislators tested positive for COVID-19.
A sixth Texas state legislator tested positive for the virus yesterday.
The White House official and the Pelosi aide were both present at a rooftop reception event at the Hotel Eaton last Wednesday, according to the report.
The individuals involved have all reportedly been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The White House official who tested positive has not had direct contact with President Joe Biden in recent days, and the Pelosi aide has not been in close contact with the California Democrat since their exposure to COVID-19.
Read more: Exclusive documents show which Pence aides are still getting government paychecks
“Yesterday, a fully vaccinated White House official tested positive for COVID-19 off campus,” a White House official told Axios in a statement. “In accordance with our rigorous COVID-19 protocols, the official remains off campus as they wait for a confirmatory PCR test. The White House Medical Unit has conducted contact tracing interviews and determined no close contacts among White House principals and staff. The individual has mild symptoms.”
The official added: “The White House is prepared for breakthrough cases with regular testing. This is another reminder of the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines against severe illness or hospitalization. We wish our colleague a speedy recovery.”
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Drew Hammill, the deputy chief of staff to Pelosi, said in a statement that the Speaker’s office would “continue to follow the guidance of the Office of Attending Physician closely.”
“Yesterday, a fully-vaccinated senior spokesperson in the Speaker’s press office tested positive for COVID after contact with members of the Texas state legislature last week,” he said. “The entire press office is working remotely today with the exception of individuals who have had no exposure to the individual or have had a recent negative test.”
Five of the six Texas state lawmakers reportedly have mild or no symptoms of the coronavirus.
NBC4 Washington on Tuesday reported that several vaccinated Congressional staff members, along with a vaccinated member of Congress, contracted COVID-19, per a note from the Office of Attending Physician.
It is possible to test positive for COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated, as experts have previously warned.
Breakthrough infections are typically mild and possibly less contagious, Insider’s Andrea Michelson and Mia de Graaf previously reported.
While the risk of contracting the COVID-19 while vaccinated is low, vaccinated people who develop symptoms of the virus should isolate themselves from other individuals and get clinically evaluated and tested, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
As the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus takes hold across the country, more Americans have begun to express concerns about the strain.
Read the original article on Business Insider
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