Dr. Anthony Fauci has decided to skip the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday amid concerns over COVID-19.
The nation’s leading pandemic doctor says he would stay away from the gathering at the Washington Hilton located in D.C.’s tony Dupont Circle neighborhood due to his own “individual assessment of my personal risk” amid fast-rising caseloads driven by the highly contagious BA.2 subvariant of omicron.
Fauci is vaccinated and double boosted.
But at 81, Fauci’s age still puts him in a demographic that is at high risk for serious illness.
Trevor Noah, the host of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, will be the featured entertainer at the dinner.
Fauci recently said that COVID-19 is close to entering an endemic phase, and while the U.S. is seeing fewer hospitalization and deaths, Fauci may still not relish the idea of sharing a ballroom with a few thousand people, not all of whom will be wearing protective masks or taking social distancing precautions.
Vice President Kamala Harris, 57, tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and is taking Paxlovid, the Pfizer antiviral pill, her office said. The drug, when administered within five days of symptoms appearing, has been proven to bring about a 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severe disease.
Harris’ diagnosis comes a month after her husband, Doug Emhoff, recovered from the virus, as a wave of cases of the highly transmissible omicron subvariant has spread through Washington’s political class including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Chris Murphy of Connecticut tested positive on Tuesday.
To date, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden remain committed to attending the annual charity benefit hosted by the White House press corps.
Fears remain that WHCA could be a repeat of the Gridiron Dinner in early April in which 72 guests contracted COVID-19 including members of Congress and Cabinet members.
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