Massachusetts Representative Ayanna Pressley announced Friday that she has tested positive for COVID-19 in a breakthrough case.
The Boston Democrat said she tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday morning and is experiencing “relatively mild” symptoms. She is fully vaccinated and has received a booster dose, she said.
“I am currently isolating and following all health protocols in order to mitigate the further spread and keep my loved ones and community safe,” Pressley said in a statement.
She added that “vaccines save lives,” and she encouraged others to “do their part by getting vaccinated, boosted and masking up.”
Dozens of members of Congress have tested positive for the COVID-19 throughout the pandemic.
Earlier this month, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren announced she had tested positive for the virus in a breakthrough case. Warren was also fully vaccinated and had received a booster dose when she tested positive.
Pressley’s husband, Conan Harris, tested positive for the virus days after the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6. Harris was with Pressley at the Capitol during the attack, and the two sheltered in place with other lawmakers. At the time, Pressley tested negative.
In announcing her husband’s positive test on Jan. 13, Pressley assailed Republicans in the room for not wearing masks as lawmakers hid from insurrectionists who stormed the building. Several members of Congress also tested positive in the days following the riot.
“As my colleagues and I sought shelter from the white supremacist mob that violently attacked our seat of government, we were greeted by a different threat — one posed by my callous Republican colleagues who, in this crowded and confined space, repeatedly refused to wear masks when offered,” Pressley said in a statement at the time. “Their arrogant disregard for the lives of others is infuriating, but not surprising, and we are seeing the consequences of it daily, as several of my colleagues — and now my husband — test positive for COVID-19.”
Pressley’s breakthrough case comes as COVID-19 cases are rising in the United States and in Massachusetts, largely fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Experts have warned that breakthrough cases are expected to rise as immunity from vaccines wanes over time, and early data suggests Omicron has the capability to evade some of the protection that vaccines provide. They have championed booster shots as a way to shore up protection against the new variant.
