CDC director tests positive for COVID again | WGN 720 Radio
by: MIKE STOBBE, Associated Press
Posted by:
Updated:
NEW YORK (AP) — The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tested positive for COVID-19 again.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky had mild symptoms Sunday and is in isolation at her home in Massachusetts, the CDC said Monday.
53-year-old Valenskaya tested positive for the first time on October 21. She drank a course of antiviral pills Paxlovid and later tested negative. But symptoms have returned, and Walensky is back in isolation, working and holding virtual meetings, the CDC said.
Paxlovid has been shown to be effective in preventing serious illness and death among people most at risk, including the elderly and immunocompromised. But the pills seem to do little or no good for young people. Some people taking the drug have experienced a return of symptoms after completing a five-day course of Paxlovid tablets.
CDC officials said Walensky is up to date on his vaccines.
Walensky headed the CDC in January 2021. She is one of several US public health officials who have contracted COVID-19.
___
The Associated Press Department of Health and Science receives support from the Department of Science Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. AP is solely responsible for all content.
https://wgnradio.com/health/ap-cdc-director-tests-positive-for-covid-again/
