Vice President Kamala Harris tests negative for COVID after brief case

Vice President Kamala Harris tested negative for COVID on Monday, six days after she was diagnosed with a virus case, the White House said.

Harris, who is 57 and received a pair of booster shots before testing positive, will continue wearing a mask for 10 days after exiting isolation, according to the White House.

Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, D.C. on April 15, 2022. (Patrick Semansky/)

She has quarantined at Number One Observatory Circle, the vice president’s residence, since receiving positive results on multiple tests last Tuesday.

“Today, the Vice President tested negative for COVID-19 on a rapid antigen test,” Kirsten Allen, the vice president’s press secretary, said in a statement on Monday. “The Vice President will return to work, in person, tomorrow.”

Harris’ positive test, which followed a West Coast trip, came as COVID continues to crawl around Capitol Hill.

Doug Emhoff, Harris’ husband, tweeted a picture last Wednesday showing the vice president smiling, a pen in one hand and a folder in the other.

“Thanks to everyone who sent well wishes,” Emhoff tweeted. “She is feeling good and is working from home.”

President Biden, 79, also has received two boosters.

The president has yet to contract the highly contagious virus, and his appearance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner over the weekend raised some concern that he might be putting himself at risk at a time when his second-in-command was already infected.

But Harris’ negative test result on Monday may have eased some of those worries.

Before her diagnosis, Harris had not had close contact in previous days with the president due to their travel schedules, Allen said.

Harris was prescribed Pfizer’s sought-after Paxlovid antiviral pill, drawing the ire of some physicians.

After she received her second booster shot at the start of April, Harris called on Americans to get their bonus jabs, too.

With her brief bout, she joins a growing club of heavily vaccinated Washington leaders who have tested positive recently without displaying severe symptoms.

“We know that getting vaccinated is the best form of protection from this virus, and boosters are critical in providing an additional level of protection,” Harris said on Twitter on April 2. “If you haven’t received your first booster — do it today.”