Vaccinated congressman Vern Buchanan tests positive for Covid-19

Florida US Rep Vern Buchanan experienced ‘very mild flu-like symptoms’ and is quarantining at home

US Rep Vern Buchanan has tested positive for Covid-19 with “very mild flu-like symptoms,” his office has announced.

“I look forward to returning to work as soon as possible,” Rep Buchanan said in a statement on Monday. “In the meantime, this should serve as a reminder that although vaccines provide a very high degree of protection, we must remain vigilant in the fight against Covid-19.”

The Florida Republican was fully vaccinated against the disease earlier this year.

His diagnosis marks the first confirmed infection in a member of Congress in months, as vaccines became widely available in the spring.

The announcement follows coronavirus infections among five Texas lawmakers who travelled to Washington DC last week in an effort to block passage of Republican-backed legislation that would make it harder to vote in the state. All five lawmakers said they were also fully vaccinated.

More than 186 million Americans, including roughly 176 million adults, have received at least one dose of three available coronavirus vaccines, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number of people who are fully vaccinated – or have received two required doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine – is roughly 161 million, while daily dose rates have declined from a spring high of up to 3 million per day to fewer than 500,000 daily shots.

Rising infections involving the more-contagious Delta variant have underscored an urgency to get more shots in arms, which significantly reduce the chance of severe illness and death.

White House coronavirus adviser Jeff Zients reported that Florida accounts for roughly one in five new infections nationally. The state reported more than 46,000 new infections over the last week, nearly double the number of confirmed cases from the previous week.

On Friday, CDC director Rochelle Walensky warned that the public health crisis has transformed into a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” with 97 per cent of new hospitalisations and nearly all Covid-19-linked deaths were among people who have not received vaccines.

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy supports municipalities extending or reimposing mask mandates to combat rising infections.