GOP Sen. Roger Wicker tests positive in COVID-19 ‘breakthrough’ case

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who is fully vaccinated, tested positive on Thursday for COVID-19.

Wicker is the second known “breakthrough” case among senators, after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is also fully vaccinated, tested positive earlier this month.

“Senator Wicker tested positive this morning for the COVID-19 virus after immediately seeking a test due to mild symptoms. Senator Wicker is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, is in good health, and is being treated by his Tupelo-based physician,” Phillip Waller, Wicker’s communications director, said in a statement.

“He is isolating, and everyone with whom Senator Wicker has come in close contact recently has been notified,” he added.

The Senate is in recess until mid-September after leaving town last week.

Less than 1 percent of fully vaccinated Americans have had a breakthrough case that results in hospitalization or death, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Public health officials have stressed that symptomatic breakthrough infections for fully vaccinated individuals are rare and getting vaccinated makes getting a severe case of the coronavirus less likely.