SC’s Jim Clyburn reports breakthrough COVID-19 diagnosis, says he’s asymptomatic
U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, who is fully vaccinated for the coronavirus and got his booster shot in September, said Wednesday he has tested positive for COVID-19, part of a pattern of breakthrough cases that have popped up as the omicron variant continues to spread nationwide.
Clyburn, 81, who reported being asymptomatic, said he previously tested negative for COVID-19 Thursday, a day before President Joe Biden joined the Columbia Democrat at his alma mater, South Carolina State University, where Biden gave a graduation speech.
“On Sunday, my entire family took at-home tests as a precaution prior to my granddaughter’s wedding, which took place today,” Clyburn said in a statement late Wednesday. “My at-home test was inconclusive. Out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of the House Attending Physician, I immediately quarantined and took a PCR test on Monday.”
He said he waited more than 56 hours for his results, which ultimately came back positive.
Clyburn has been in quarantine since Sunday, and said he would continue to follow the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations until he know it’s safe to resume his regular activities.
His COVID-19 diagnosis forced him to miss his granddaughter’s wedding, a sacrifice he called part of the “unfortunate reality” playing out across the country.
“America is in a new phase of this pandemic. No one is immune to this virus,” he said in a statement that urged residents to get vaccinated and boosted. “It is the best protection against severe disease and possible death.”
The explosion of breakthrough cases is believed to be due to the omicron variant, which is significantly more transmissible than delta and renders vaccination less effective.
Omicron, which just two weeks ago made up only 1% of COVID-19 cases nationwide, is now believed to account for 73% of new cases, according to the CDC. In the Southeast region that includes South Carolina, the variant makes up more than 95% of cases, the agency estimates.
Clyburn is at least the eighth member of Congress to test positive for COVID-19 this week.
A mid-level White House staffer who had been with Biden and Clyburn in Orangeburg last week also tested positive for the virus, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris tested negative for COVID-19 Wednesday.
More than a dozen people who last week attended meetings in South Carolina hosted by a subgroup of the Democratic National Committee also have tested positive for COVID-19, BuzzFeed News reported.
Between 5% and 10% of the nearly 300 attendees at the Charleston-based events were infected, the website said.
This story was originally published December 22, 2021 at 8:23 PM.
