Posted on 08/02/21
| News Source: The Hill
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Monday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, even though he was fully vaccinated.
“I was just informed by the House physician I have tested positive for COVID-19 even after being vaccinated,” he said.
“I started having flu-like symptoms Saturday night and went to the doctor this morning. I feel like I have a sinus infection and at present time I have mild symptoms. I will be quarantining for ten days,” he added.
Graham was one of 17 GOP senators who have been helping advance a bipartisan infrastructure bill, meaning its supporters will be down a vote until he comes out of quarantine. They only need 10 GOP senators to support it if every Democrat does.
Graham is the first senator known to test positive for the coronavirus in months, and the first known "breakthrough" case among vaccinated senators. A CNN survey earlier this year found that only four out of 100 senators, at the time, were not vaccinated.
Graham's announcement comes amid growing public concern about the potential for so-called breakthrough cases, or when a fully vaccinated person tests positive for the coronavirus.
Public health officials have stressed that symptomatic breakthrough infections for fully vaccinated individuals are rare and getting vaccinated makes getting a severe case of the coronavirus less likely.