Here’s what we know…
In the latest in a long list of Washington lawmakers, Senator Chris Coons has announced he tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday (December 23) but added he had “minimal symptoms.”
Publishing a statement on Twitter, Coons revealed that he had tested positive for COVID-19. The Senator stated that in recent weeks he had been tested regularly with PCR tests and rapid tests –– although it has been revealed that the Omicron variant isn’t always picked up by rapid tests. Yet, in his statement, he details how the “bad news” he received on Wednesday (December 22) was a positive COVID test. He then explained that he was keeping optimistic, saying his symptoms were minimal and believed he would “recover well” after following the CDC guidelines of isolating.
This news coincides with another tweet the Delaware Democrat made about COVID-19. In the tweet, he said that while Delaware was dealing with a surge in Omicron cases, people should test regularly. The tweet also encouraged those who hadn’t already, to get the vaccine or their booster, whichever applied to their circumstance. He concluded by saying everyone had to do their “part to fight this pandemic and keep each other healthy.”
His statements follow a week of Washington lawmakers testing positive for COVID-19, despite being fully vaccinated. Similar to these Senators –– which include Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and Cory Booker (D-N.Y.) –– Coons said his symptoms have been mild, alluding to being fully vaccinated as the reason for his milder symptoms.
Although Coons didn’t confirm if he was positive with the Omicron variant, preliminary data shows this is the most infectious variant so far, with scant evidence suggesting that vaccination provides minimal protection. Yet it’s also believed that Omicron has the fewest life-threatening infections of previous variants, generally being a milder form of COVID-19 even among the unvaccinated, as has been reported from data coming out of South Africa.
