Vaccinated White House official tests positive for COVID

A vaccinated White House official has tested positive for COVID-19, a US spokeswoman says, adding that the person had not had contact with US President Joe Biden or other top-level staff.

“I want to confirm that yesterday a fully vaccinated White House official tested positive for COVID-19 off campus,” Biden’s press secretary Jen Psaki says at a briefing, adding that the official, who has not been identified, had mild symptoms.

She says that in accordance with “rigorous” protocols, the official is staying away from the White House as they await more testing, and that contact tracing had been carried out.

“We know that there will be breakthrough cases,” Psaki tells reporters at the White House briefing.

“But as this incident shows, cases in vaccinated individuals are typically mild. The White House is prepared for breakthrough cases with regular testing.”

Psaki also says there had been other breakthrough cases at the White House, but did not confirm how many or when.

She says the incident was “another reminder of the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines against severe illness or hospitalization.”