COVID 19 Tech

Delta goes to Washington, infects vaccinated Capitol staffers

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House on July 20, 2021, in Washington, DC. Psaki acknowledged that a White House staffer has tested positive for COVID-19 and there have been other recent breakthrough cases of vaccinated staff members.

Enlarge / White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House on July 20, 2021, in Washington, DC. Psaki acknowledged that a White House staffer has tested positive for COVID-19 and there have been other recent breakthrough cases of vaccinated staff members. (credit: Getty | Drew Angerer)

Multiple White House staff members and an aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have tested positive for the pandemic coronavirus despite being fully vaccinated, press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed in a White House press briefing Tuesday.

The confirmation came after reports that the Pelosi staffer and one White House official tested positive after they attended the same reception at a DC hotel last Wednesday, according to a report from Axios. Additionally, the Pelosi staffer was in contact with a delegation of Texas Democrats who had come to the US Capitol last week in an effort to thwart a GOP voting bill. Six of the more than 50 Texas Democrats have since tested positive for the pandemic coronavirus.

The infected Pelosi staffer had not been in direct contact with the speaker recently, and the infected White House official had not been in direct contact with the president recently, Axios reported.

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