US Vice-President Kamala Harris taking Paxlovid pill after testing positive for Covid-19

WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG, REUTERS) - US Vice-President Kamala Harris will take Pfizer’s Paxlovid Covid-19 therapy pill after testing positive for the virus earlier on Tuesday (April 26), a treatment decision coinciding with the Biden administration’s push to expand access to the medication.  

Harris, 57, decided to start the treatment “after consultation with her physicians,” her press secretary Kirsten Allen said in a tweet. 

The US vice-president tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday but is not exhibiting symptoms, a spokesperson had said, at a time when there has been an increase in cases among White House staffers.

Harris has not been in close contact with President Joe Biden, her press secretary said. She will isolate and return to the White House when she tests negative, Allen said.

Infections have risen in some parts of the US due to the highly transmissible Omicron BA.2 variant, even as cases are falling overall, according to public health officials.

Under the Food and Drug Administration authoriSation for Paxlovid, Americans treated with it are supposed to be at high risk for developing a severe case of Covid-19.

A White House official pointed out Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, saying the risk of getting very sick from the virus increased beginning with people in their 50s.

The vice-president’s diagnosis and treatment plan occurred on the same day as the administration announcing that tens of thousands of pharmacies would be able this week to order Paxlovid, and that the government was launching new “test-to-treat” locations where Americans could take a test and, if positive, be immediately prescribed and given the antiviral treatment.

The pill must be taken early – within five days of the onset of symptoms – to be effective.

The US has said that about 500,000 courses of Paxlovid have been used so far, and the administration has committed to buying 20 million courses of the antiviral medicine.

In recent weeks, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Harris's communications director Jamal Simmons, White House press secretary Jen Psaki and deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre disclosed positive tests.

Other high-ranking officials to test positive this month have included US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, second in the line of succession to the presidency after Harris, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

US Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, said on Twitter that he had tested positive on Tuesday.

Administration officials have said recently that President Biden’s regular contact with advisers and supporters could expose him to Covid-19.

However, the administration is keen to project a sense of normalcy as many Americans are returning to work and socializing with friends and family, they said.

Both Biden and Harris are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and have received two booster shots. They have in recent weeks mingled with unmasked guests at the White House, including an event attended by 200 guests with former President Barack Obama to talk about Democrats’ signature healthcare law.

With midterm elections scheduled for November, 51% of Americans disapprove of Biden’s job performance, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, as the country struggles with high inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, pushing Biden, Harris and high-ranking administration officials to travel more and spend more time in large groups without a mask.