Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) announced Tuesday that he recently tested positive for COVID-19 and took the opportunity to thank former President Trump for his role in supporting vaccine development.
“I recently tested positive for COVID. I am vaccinated and the symptoms are not serious”, Lieu wrote in social platform
“I want to thank Donald Trump for strongly believing in COVID vaccines and starting Operation Warp Speed,” he added.
The Trump administration launched Operation Warp Speed in May 2021, which helped pharmaceutical companies utilize relatively new technology to produce two very effective and safe COVID-19 vaccines in less than a year. Experts estimated vaccines prevented 14.4 million deaths in a single year.
Throughout the campaign, Trump performed a complicated tap dance about COVID vaccines. He was credited with its rapid development, but was also critical of its use. He has also frequently criticized his now former rivals in the 2024 presidential primaries for being too pro-vaccine.
Trump said he would not “give a dime to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate” — focusing on the mandates rather than the vaccines themselves, while embracing some of the concerns of the anti-vaccine movement.
COVID-19 levels have recently increased across the country as many public officials also announce positive diagnoses.
In July alone, President Biden, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, and Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.) tested positive for COVID-19.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
