House Republican calls second bout of COVID-19 ‘far more challenging’

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) announced on Facebook Sunday evening that he and his wife had contracted COVID-19 for the second time, calling it “far more challenging.” 

“I have COVID, Becca has COVID, my son has COVID. Becca and I had COVID before, early on, in January 2020, before the world really knew what it was. So, this is our second experience with the CCP biological attack weaponized virus … and this episode is far more challenging. It has required all of my devoted energy,” he wrote, referring to a conspiracy that the virus was engineered by China to be a biological weapon.

“We are all under excellent care, and our prognosis is positive. We are very healthy generally speaking, and our treatment of any health concern always encompasses western, eastern, and holistic variables,” Higgins continued.

It is unclear if Higgins or his family members received the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to C-SPAN, Higgins last voted in the House on July 1. He did not vote in-person or by proxy last week when members returned from a two-week break.

Higgins missed votes earlier this year between Jan. 27 and Jan. 30, C-SPAN reported. According to a personal explanation listed in the Congressional Record on Feb. 4, Higgins said he had been absent due to “a ​​family medical concern.”

“I love and respect you all. I am honored and humbled to serve you in Congress. Our mission will continue. My family and I will recover fully. Your prayerful support is felt deep within my family and will never be forgotten,” Higgins said in his Facebook post Sunday.

Louisiana, like other areas of the U.S., has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that only 36 percent Louisiana residents are vaccinated, while the state is seeing a rate of new cases that have not been reported since January.

The state saw 3,127 new cases on Friday, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It had 5,388 new cases on Wednesday. 

During an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday, President Biden’s chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci said that the pandemic was now an “outbreak among the unvaccinated.” 

When asked about projections examining potential increases in cases overall, Fauci said the U.S. was “going in the wrong direction.”

A number of reports in recent weeks have shown that the majority of new coronavirus infections are occurring in people who have not been inoculated against COVID-19.

The Hill has reached out to Higgins’s office for comment.