Three U.S. senators tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday despite being fully vaccinated, bringing the total number of breakthrough cases in the upper chamber to four.
The offices of Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, Angus King, a Maine Independent, and John Hickenlooper, a Colorado Democrat, confirmed that the senators were experiencing mild symptoms and are otherwise doing well.
“Senator Wicker tested positive this morning for the COVID-19 virus after immediately seeking a test due to mild symptoms,” said Wicker’s communications director, Phillip Waller. “He is isolating, and everyone with whom Senator Wicker has come in close contact recently has been notified.”
Wicker, who represents a state in which only 36% of its population is fully vaccinated, is “in good health and is being treated by his Tupelo-based physician,” his office reported.
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King credited the COVID-19 vaccine for keeping his symptoms mild. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted infections among fully vaccinated people, called breakthrough cases, are to be expected. The shots from Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson have proven highly effective at preventing serious illness in people who got the shots.
“While I am not feeling great, I’m definitely feeling much better than I would have without the vaccine. I am taking this diagnosis very seriously, quarantining myself at home and telling the few people I’ve been in contact with to get tested in order to limit any further spread,” King said.
Hickenlooper, meanwhile, also said Thursday that getting vaccinated successfully limited his symptoms of COVID-19 and urged holdouts to get their shots.
“I feel good but will isolate per docs instructions. I’m grateful for the vaccine (& the scientists behind it!) for limiting my symptoms,” Hickenlooper said.
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Earlier this month, South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham also tested positive for COVID-19 even after receiving the vaccine. He, like Wicker, described feeling mild symptoms. Most cases that are severe enough to land the patient in the hospital occur when that patient is unvaccinated.
