“It’s almost impossible to isolate the president of the United States in a way that would keep him from getting sick,” one pandemic expert says.
Standing before a packed White House crowd this week, President Joe Biden cheerfully ticked off a series of his administration’s health care accomplishments. Among them, he said: Finally getting the coronavirus “under control.”
Yet as Biden waded through the celebratory East Room, embracing and shaking hands with dozens of maskless lawmakers and advocates, the virus was quietly running rampant through the building.
In the space of a week, dozens of White House aides and federal officials have contracted the disease in an outbreak that appears to have touched all corners of the administration. Two Cabinet members have it, along with a growing list of congressional Democrats.
Vice President Kamala Harris — who stood next to Biden on Tuesday — has had her communications staff hit by Covid. And on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also tested positive, just a day after appearing alongside the president.
The outbreak has jolted a Washington establishment that’s been eager to leave Covid behind and offered an up-close reminder of the pandemic threat that still hangs over the nation and Biden’s presidency. It’s also raised fresh questions about how best to protect the 79-year-old commander in chief, who vowed this year to “get out” of the White House more often — yet faces an ever-present elevated risk of severe illness.
“Everybody’s in danger,” said Irwin Redlener, director of the Pandemic Resources and Response Initiative at Columbia University. “It’s almost impossible to isolate the president of the United States in a way that would keep him from getting sick.”
Biden’s ability to remain Covid-free to date has been the result of stringent White House protocols, careful travel and — as some officials will acknowledge — a bit of luck. Despite sharing the stage with Pelosi hours earlier, the White House on Thursday said that Biden had so far tested negative.
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In the space of a week, dozens of White House aides and federal officials have contracted the disease in an outbreak that appears to have touched all corners of the administration https://t.co/NqlkId1Opw
— POLITICO (@politico) April 7, 2022
I figure eventually, despite vaccinations and boosters, we are all going to come down with COVID. The question is, how severe will it be? I hope being vaccinated and receiving as many boosters as necessary will keep most of us out of the hospital or the morgue. But for some it may not be enough.
Thank you anti-vaxers and the “Idontwanna” crowd.
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