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US NSA test +ve for Covid-19; biggest vaccine trial begins
The White House said on Monday O’Brien had displayed “mild symptoms and has been self-isolating and working from a secure location off site.”
US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien has tested positive for Covid-19, making him the most senior Trump administration member to be hit by the virus.
The White House said on Monday O’Brien had displayed “mild symptoms and has been self-isolating and working from a secure location off site.”
It added: “There is no risk of exposure to the President or the Vice President. The work of the National Security Council continues uninterrupted.” O’Brien typically works from a West Wing office just a short distance from President Donald Trump’s.
He had travelled to Paris in mid-July for a meeting with counterparts from the UK, France, Germany and Italy.
Two White House staffers had tested positive earlier: Trump’s personal valet and the head of Vice-President Mike Pence’s communications team.
Moderna vaccine study gets underway
The world’s biggest Covid-19 vaccine study got underway on Monday with the first of 30,000 planned volunteers helping to test shots created by the U.S. government -- one of several candidates in the final stretch of the global vaccine race.
There’s still no guarantee that the experimental vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc, will really protect. The needed proof: Volunteers won’t know if they’re getting the real shot or a dummy version. After two doses, scientists will closely track which group experiences more infections as they go about their daily routines, especially in areas where the virus still is spreading unchecked.
