Vice President Kamala Harris At Walter Reed Hospital For “Routine” Medical Appointment

Matt Grobar and Bruce Haring
·2 min read
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UPDATE: A day after assurances from the White House that Vice President Kamala Harris did not contract Covid-19 after exposure to two infected Texas legislators, she’s at Walter Reed National Military Medical center for what’s described as a “routine” visit.

The unusual Sunday medical appointment raised eyebrows in the media. But Symone Sanders, senior advisor and chief spokesperson for Harris, said Saturday that the vice president and her staff at a meeting with two infected people were not at risk of exposure to the virus.

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The White House assured that Harris and her staff “were not at risk of exposure because they were not in close contact with those who tested positive and therefore do not need to be tested or quarantined,” Sanders said. “The Vice President and her staff are fully vaccinated.”

EARLIER: Vice President Kamala Harris and her staff avoided Covid-19 exposure at a recent meeting with Texas lawmakers, two of whom have now tested positive, according to a White House Office of the Vice President spokesperson.

“On Tuesday, July 13th, Vice President Harris met with members of the Texas state legislature who are temporarily in Washington, D.C. Earlier today, it was brought to our attention that two of the members at that meeting tested positive for COVID-19,” said Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson Symone Sanders.

“Based on the time line of these positive tests, it was determined the Vice President and her staff present at the meeting were not at risk of exposure because they were not in close contact with those who tested positive and therefore do not need to be tested or quarantined. The Vice President and her staff are fully vaccinated.”

Texas House’s Democratic Caucus director Phillip Martin announced on Saturday that three of the state’s Democratic lawmakers had tested positive for Covid-19 while in the nation’s capitol. More than 50 Texas House Democrats arrived in D.C. on Monday in an attempt to block the passage of a Republican-backed law which would impose new voting requirements in the Lone Star State.

At the moment, the legislators in question remain in D.C. Their names and conditions were not released. Each member of the delegation who tested positive for Covid-19 via a rapid test had previously been vaccinated against the virus.

For the White House, a positive Covid-19 test on the part of Harris or one of her staffers could have potentially spelled disaster. While President Biden received his second vaccination against the coronavirus all the way back in January, the 78-year-old Pennsylvania native remains at high risk of severe illness, should he contract the virus, given his advanced age.

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