US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and family get Covid-19 despite safeguards
- America’s doctor says he and his wife, Dr Alice Chen, have mild symptoms, and his youngest daughter, who tested positive first, is hoarse but ‘still smiling’
- Murthy, who is vaccinated and boosted, sought to console others who had tried to protect themselves and have still fallen ill
US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy announced on Friday that he and his young family have Covid-19 despite their best efforts to avoid infection by getting vaccinated and taking other precautions.
Writing on Twitter, America’s doctor said, “When you’ve been as safe as you can, getting Covid-19 can be frustrating and disappointing. I’ve felt that. It can also be a source of shame. Many people assume you must have been careless to get sick. Our safety measures reduce risk but they can’t eliminate risk. Nothing can.”
As new cases and hospitalisations plummet, and deaths have finally started to decline, the Murthy family’s bout with Covid-19 calls attention to the real risks of a virus that many people assume is finally on the way out.
Murthy, a regular participant at White House Covid-19 task force briefings, said he and his wife, doctor and political activist Alice Chen, have mild symptoms. She has a headache and fatigue, and he said he was dealing with muscle aches, chills, and a sore throat.
“Our breathing is fine, thankfully,” he wrote.
