Psaki says the White House won’t disclose how many vaccinated staffers have tested positive for COVID-19

Psaki says the White House won’t disclose how many vaccinated staffers have tested positive for COVID-19

Stories, Worklife Comments Off

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said on Thursday that the White House will not publicize how many vaccinated staffers have tested positive for COVID-19.

“No, I don’t think that you can expect that we’ll be providing numbers of breakthrough cases,” Psaki said in response to the number of COVID-19 cases among vaccinated people on the White House campus. Psaki said there are roughly 2,000 people who work on the White House campus, so breakthrough cases are inevitable “statistically speaking.”

“We’re in a very different place than we were several months ago,” Psaki said, emphasizing that the “vast majority” of vaccinated people who get COVID-19 are expected to be asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

On Tuesday, Psaki confirmed that there had previously been multiple breakthrough cases in the White House after it was reported that a White House official and an aide to Pelosi — both fully vaccinated — had tested positive for COVID-19.

On Wednesday, the White House press secretary said the administration would disclose when officials who’ve tested positive come in close contact with President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Because of our commitment to transparency, what we’re going to be providing, moving forward, are updates on any White House official who tests positive for COVID-19 that the White House medical unit deemed as having had close contact with the president, vice president, first lady, or second gentleman,” Psaki said.

Author

Back to Top