Massie plans to donate plasma after testing positive for COVID-19 antibodies

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said he is planning to donate plasma after recently testing positive for COVID-19 antibodies.

The Kentucky Republican, speaking late last week on Glenn Beck’s radio show, said he was tested for both the coronavirus and antibodies in late July and that the antibodies test came back positive, the Courier-Journal reported Tuesday.

Massie said he’s convinced he contracted the virus in January, the same month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first case on U.S. soil.

He added that he believes the antibodies probably provided him with some immunity around his peers who contracted the virus around the Capitol.

“I would imagine the antibodies probably conferred some immunity to me for the past several months that I didn’t know about,” Massie told the Washington Examiner on the same day as the Glenn Beck interview.

A medical study released in July found that patients who recover from COVID-19 may lose their immunity to the virus within months. The study found that 60 percent of the patients had a “potent” antibody response at peak of their coronavirus infection. After about two months, however, just 16.7 percent of the patients had a potent antibody response.

“I would have gotten an antibody test sooner, but the media described this as a lung condition,” Massie told the Examiner. “And it wasn’t until I heard reports from most of the people that it actually manifested itself as a fever and sore throat and lack of energy and didn’t go to their lungs. Once they got more reports that have symptoms that lined up with the symptoms that I had in January, that compelled me to go to get the antibody test.”

Massie drew the ire of fellow Republicans, including President Trump, when he opposed a record $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package that broad bipartisan support.

Massie said he wasn’t sure where he contracted the virus.

“I was sick for four days with a fever and a sore throat and very little energy. I had super low energy. I went to the doctor on Jan. 7, and I told him I had to get back to work, so they gave me an anti-histamine and shot of Rocephin, and I felt better the next day,” he told the newspaper.

Massie said his test from late July showed that his antibody level was triple the threshold recommended by the Food and Drug Administration for plasma donation, making him a qualified donor.

Massie is the 12th lawmaker to have tested positive for COVID-19. He joins Reps. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.), Ben McAdams (D-Utah), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), Tom Rice (R-S.C.), Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).