The Future Is Here
We may earn a commission from links on this page

Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker Test Positive for Covid-19

Both Senators have been vaccinated and had booster shots.

Sen. Cory Booker (left) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren in file photos from Getty Images
Sen. Cory Booker (left) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren in file photos from Getty Images
Image: Tom Williams / Kevin Dietsch (Getty Images)

U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Cory Booker of New Jersey both announced on Sunday they’ve tested positive for covid-19. Both Democratic Senators were vaccinated and both had reportedly received booster doses. Warren and Booker are experiencing mild symptoms from the disease, according to CNN.

“I learned today that I tested positive for COVID-19 after first feeling symptoms on Saturday,” Booker tweeted on Sunday.

Advertisement

“My symptoms are relatively mild. I’m beyond grateful to have received two doses of vaccine and, more recently, a booster–I’m certain that without them I would be doing much worse,” Booker continued.

Advertisement

Sen. Warren, who was reportedly on the floor of the U.S. Senate last week, also tweeted about her case on Sunday, using the term “breakthrough case,” which refers to when someone who’s vaccinated contracts the disease.

Advertisement

“I regularly test for COVID & while I tested negative earlier this week, today I tested positive with a breakthrough case,” Warren tweeted.

“Thankfully, I am only experiencing mild symptoms & am grateful for the protection provided against serious illness that comes from being vaccinated & boosted,” Warren continued.

Advertisement

Trolls descended on the Senators, like far-right journalist Andy Ngo, who tweeted at Booker, “You received three shots and still became infected?”

Getting vaccinated is not a bulletproof solution against covid-19, as just about any expert will tell you at this point, but it does protect you from severe disease and death. The new omicron variant in particular seems to evade the vaccines, but it’s still better to be vaccinated than not, as Ngo surely knows.

Advertisement

The two Senators weren’t the only lawmakers to test positive over the weekend. Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, also a Democrat, also announced on Sunday that he’d contracted covid-19.

The seven-day average for new cases in the U.S. is 132,810, with about 1,315 new deaths each day, according to a tally by BNO News. But that’s taking into account the fact that just 14 of the country’s 50 states reported covid-19 statistics on Sunday. Reporting slows down over the weekend, but there’s every reason to believe the numbers are getting worse in virtually every state.

Advertisement

Minnesota’s Twin Cities area has just one ICU bed available and local hospitals are setting up mobile morgues to deal with the surge in deaths. And states across the country, like Maine, have deployed the National Guard to assist health care workers who are stretched to the limit.

This pandemic is far from over. The U.S. covid-19 vaccination rate is just 61.4%, well below most other wealthy countries. If you haven’t gotten vaccinated yet, please just get your shot. And if you’re eligible for a booster, do that too. There will be an end to this one day. But we haven’t reached that day yet.