I have noted that it is quite probable that everyone will come down with a case of COVID at some point.
And, despite her vaccination status and her defense of the vaccine-focused policies of the Biden administration, the White House Press Secretary has now been diagnosed with a COVID infection.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, she said in a statement, adding she had last seen President Joe Biden on Tuesday.Psaki, 42, who stated she was vaccinated and experiencing mild symptoms, said she and the president sat outside more than 6 feet (1.8 m) apart and wore masks on Tuesday. Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Saturday, said a person familiar with the matter.“I am disclosing today’s positive test out of an abundance of transparency,” Psaki said.Psaki, the main spokesperson for the White House, is the most high-profile person in the Biden administration known to have contracted COVID-19 since he took office in January.
Psaki is the latest, fully vaccinated, Biden official who has come down with an infection.
Psaki’s diagnosis also comes less than two weeks after after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas tested positive for COVID-19 just days following an event with the president.On Oct. 19, a fully-vaccinated Mayorkas tested positive for COVID-19 as part of routine pre-travel protocols.Three days earlier, Mayorkas had attended the 40th Annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service at the U.S. Capitol alongside Biden, where they were photographed just feet apart without masks.
We wish Psaki a speedy recovery. She will need all her strength to defend the Biden administration’s many failures.
Here’s hoping the administration begins placing a little more emphasis on treatment options and natural immunity. Merck’s new product seems poised for success.
Merck fell out of the race to develop COVID-19 vaccines earlier this year but could vault to head of the pack for treatments in 2022.The drugmaker’s potential antiviral, molnupiravir, may generate $5 billion to $7 billion in sales through next year, company executives told analysts Thursday morning. That could include as much as $1 billion this year if regulators authorize it in December.The company has asked for authorization in both the U.S. and Europe for what would be the first pill to treat COVID-19. All other treatments backed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration require an IV or injection.“The need for additional treatment options remains key in combating the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dr. Dean Li, president of Merck research laboratories, told analysts during a Thursday call to discuss third-quarter results.The FDA has said a panel of outside experts will meet late next month to consider the treatment for use in adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are at risk for severe disease or hospitalization.
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