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Chief medical adviser of White House Anthony Fauci tests positive for Covid, has mild symptoms
Fauci has not recently been in close contact with Biden or other senior administration officials, according to a release.
Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden who has been at the forefront of the US pandemic response, tested positive for Covid-19.
Fauci, who’s fully vaccinated and has been boosted twice, is experiencing mild symptoms and will continue to work from home, according to a statement Wednesday from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where he’s director. More than two years into the pandemic, it’s the first time the 81-year-old has tested positive for the virus, the agency said.
Fauci has not recently been in close contact with Biden or other senior administration officials, according to a release. Concerns over the 79-year-old president’s vulnerability to infection began mounting earlier this week when Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra tested positive for Covid -- his second time catching the virus in less than a month. Becerra previously had Covid in May while traveling in Berlin ahead of G7 meetings with other health officials.
Set to appear Thursday morning in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to give an update on the federal response to the pandemic, Fauci asked to participate in the hearing remotely, according to a Democratic aide familiar with the situation. Committee chair Patty Murray from Washington state will let him -- as long as he feels well enough -- and wishes him a speedy recovery, the aide said. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf are also listed as witnesses.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that he had tested positive for Covid, his second time catching the virus this year. Trudeau was in Los Angeles last week with Biden for the Summit of the Americas.
(Updates with Thursday Senate hearing in fourth paragraph)
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