WASHINGTON — Officials with Sen. Roger Wicker’s office said that the Mississippi Republican tested positive Thursday for COVID-19 after experiencing “mild symptoms” of the viral infection.
“Senator Wicker is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, is in good health, and is being treated by his Tupelo-based physician,” Phillip Waller, Wicker’s communications director, said in a statement. “He is isolating, and everyone with whom Senator Wicker has come in close contact recently has been notified.”
Statement from the Office of U.S. Senator Roger Wicker: https://t.co/aYK4AYlMgP
— Senator Roger Wicker (@SenatorWicker) August 19, 2021
>> Related: Coronavirus: Sen. Angus King tests positive for COVID-19
Wicker was one of three members of Congress to announce a COVID-19 diagnosis on Thursday. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., also said they tested positive for the viral infection.
>> Related: Coronavirus: Sen. John Hickenlooper tests positive for COVID-19
The diagnoses are the latest known breakthrough cases of COVID-19 in Congress.
Earlier this month, fully vaccinated Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., tested positive for the viral infection after experiencing “flu-like symptoms.” Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., who is also fully vaccinated, announced last month that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
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An unidentified White House official and an aide for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also tested positive for the viral infection last month despite being vaccinated.
Research has shown that fully vaccinated people can spread the highly transmissible delta variant of the virus, which accounts for more than 80% of all COVID-19 cases reported nationwide; however, officials have noted that vaccination protects well against severe and life-threatening symptoms of the viral infection.
>> Related: Coronavirus: Vaccinated White House official, Pelosi aide test positive for COVID-19
On Thursday, President Joe Biden said that the latest data “confirms we’re still in a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
“While we’re starting to see initial signs that cases may be declining in a few places, cases are still rising, especially among the unvaccinated,” he said. “Across the country, virtually all of the COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths continue to be among the unvaccinated. … Right now, it’s worse in states where overall vaccination rates are low.”
As of Thursday morning, 51% of Americans, or 169.1 million people, have been fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since the start of the pandemic, officials have confirmed 37.1 million infections and reported more than 624,000 deaths nationwide, according to numbers compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
More than 209.5 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, resulting in 4.3 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.
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