Republican Texas Rep. Kay Granger, the top GOP member on the House Appropriations Committee, tested positive for COVID-19 Sunday, becoming the latest member of Congress to catch the disease.
Granger spokesperson Sarah Flaim released a statement, saying that Granger tested positive for coronavirus when she arrived in Washington D.C. for the beginning of the 117th Congress. Flaim said Granger is asymptomatic and feels “great!” The Texas Republican will remain under the care of her doctor.
House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) (C) speaks during a news conference with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (R) and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) following a GOP caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center February 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“When she arrived in DC for the beginning of the 117th Congress, Congresswoman Kay Granger was tested for coronavirus in accordance with the Attending Physician’s guidance for Members when traveling from their home state. She was later notified that she tested positive and immediately quarantined. Having received the vaccine in December, she is asymptomatic and feeling great! She will remain under the care of her doctor,” Flaim said in a statement to The Hill.
When asked what vaccine Granger took in December, her office responded to the Daily Caller saying: “The Congresswoman received her first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in December.”
Both the Moderna and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines require two shots, according to Stat News. There is one primary dose, which Granger received, and then the second dose is a booster shot. The time between doses for the Pfizer vaccine is 21 days.
Dr. Christian Ramers, an infectious disease specialist with Family Health Centers of San Diego, told KGTV that patients are not immediately protected after taking the vaccine, ABC News reported.
Ramers said patients still need a second vaccine dose for full protection.
“We know from the vaccine clinical trials that it’s going to take about 10 to 14 days for you to start to develop protection from the vaccine,” Ramers said. “That first dose we think gives you somewhere around 50%, and you need that second dose to get up to 95%.”
Republican Florida Rep.-elect Maria Elvira Salazar announced Thursday that she tested positive for COVID-19. (RELATED: Every Member Of ‘The Squad’ Voted To Re-Elect Nancy Pelosi As House Speaker)
Dozens of politicians across the U.S. have tested positive for COVID-19. There are at least 28 current members of the House — 19 Republicans and nine Democrats — who have tested positive, according to Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram. (RELATED: Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore Tests Positive For Coronavirus)
Democratic Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore voted on the House floor for Rep. Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker on Sunday, just six days after announcing that she tested positive for COVID-19.
The number of virus cases continues to rise in the United States with over 19 million cases, resulting in more than 330,000 deaths, The Washington Post reported.