Becerra, who is fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, tested positive after taking an antigen test and suffers mild symptoms. He will work while in isolation, spokeswoman Sarah Lovenheim announced Monday.
“Secretary Becerra has not been considered a close contact of President Biden or Vice President Harris, as defined by the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention],” Lovenheim said. “The secretary remains engaged with the duties of his office from isolation and is eager to return to in-person meetings as quickly as possible.”
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Becerra also tested positive for COVID-19 on May 18, less than a week after he met with President Joe Biden. The President was not considered a close contact at that time either.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. Trudeau met with Biden four days ago at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California.
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COVID-19 cases went up again in spring 2022, with appreciation to regulations ending and the emergence of a highly infectious BA.2 offshoot of the Omicron variant. Thankfully, the UK is over the hump with this wave – however, cases remain high.
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Omicron has been revealed to cause less serious illness typically but also brings with it an increased risk of reinfection.
A study published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Imperial College London in December showed Omicron is five times more likely to reinfect people than the previously dominant Delta variant.
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Research has shown that for people who recover from COVID-19, immunity can last for about three months to several years, making it very improbable someone could catch the virus twice in a month – but not necessarily impossible.
Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center: “There are some people who have the notion that after you have a natural infection, you will be permanently protected against Covid-19 as if this were measles.
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“But the two viruses that cause these infections are very, very different. The coronavirus protection wanes naturally after a period of time.”
An October 2021 study by the Yale School of Public Health reported that unvaccinated people should have immunity against reinfection for between three and 61 months.
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However, this data was recorded and published before the emergence of the Omicron variant.
More than one positive test for any variant of COVID-19 within 90 days is deemed to be part of the same case episode, and if you test positive a matter of weeks after first getting a positive test it is more likely this is from the residual effects of the initial infection.
Positive tests outside the 90-day period are now counted as reinfection.
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