WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - As Covid cases continues to rise in the United States, 57284 new cases of coronavirus infection and 331 deaths due to the disease were recorded in the country on Tuesday, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.
The latest list of the infected Americans includes the country's Vice President Kamala Harris.
57-year-old Harris is the highest-ranking member in the Biden Cabinet to report being infected.
Harris' rapid and PCR test results returned positive on Tuesday, her Press Secretary Kirsten Allen said in a statement. She has exhibited no symptoms, will isolate and continue to work from the Vice President's residence.
Allen made it clear that Harris has not been a close contact to the President or First Lady due to their respective recent travel schedules. 'She will follow CDC guidelines and the advice of her physicians. The Vice President will return to the White House when she tests negative'.
White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator Dr.Ashish Jha said the Vice President is 'twice boosted.'
'We have a very, very contagious variant out there. It is going to be hard to ensure that no one gets COVID in America. That's not even a policy goal,' Jha said at a news conference.
'The goal of our policies should be, obviously, minimize infections whenever possible, but to make sure people don't get seriously ill,' he added.
Dr. Jha told reporters that a new generation of more effective and more durable Covid vaccines will not be available to the American people in the fall or winter if Congress doesn't approve the funding required to continue the fight against the pandemic.
FDA is working with Moderna and Pfizer, looking at what the next generation of vaccines may look like.
4345 additional deaths were reported globally on Tuesday, taking the total number of people who lost their lives due to the pandemic so far to 6,225,750.
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