Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Texas Democrats in DC is a 'super-spreader,' doctor says Psaki 'refusing to acknowledge a medical reality'

at podium

They came to fight a Republican-backed voting bill. Now the group of Texas Democrats is fighting COVID-19.

And the White House is wrestling the idea that their lobbying efforts might have created a coronavirus super-spreader event.

The group of state lawmakers flew in to Washington, D.C., last week in order to lobby the Senate for a Democrat-sponsored voting bill that would quash the type of legislation their home-state Republican counterparts are currently trying to push through. Many of them shared the same charter jet – from which they posted a maskless selfie.

  • WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 13:  Texas state House Democrats arrive at a news conference on voting rights outside the U.S. Capitol July 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. More than sixty Texas House Democrats left the state overnight to Washington, DC, in order to block a voting restrictions bill by denying a Republican quorum. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has threatened to arrest the legislators when they return to the state.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

  • WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 13:  Texas State Rep. Chris Turner (D-District 101) (3rd L), Chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, Texas State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-District 116) (2nd L), U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX) (3rd R) and U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) (2nd R) during a news conference on voting rights outside the U.S. Capitol July 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. More than sixty Texas House Democrats left the state overnight to Washington, DC, in order to block a voting restrictions bill by denying a Republican quorum. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has threatened to arrest the legislators when they return to the state.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

  • Members listen before Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Democrats from the Texas state legislature at the American Federation of Teachers, Tuesday, July 13, 2021, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

  • Fake Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Democrats from the Texas state legislature at the American Federation of Teachers, Tuesday, July 13, 2021, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

  • WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 13: Flanked by Texas state House Democrats, U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX) (L) speaks as Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) (R) listens during a news conference on voting rights outside the U.S. Capitol July 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. More than sixty Texas House Democrats left the state overnight to Washington, DC, in order to block a voting restrictions bill by denying a Republican quorum. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has threatened to arrest the legislators when they return to the state.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

  • WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 13: Texas state House Democrat Rep. Senfronia Thompson (TX-141) speaks to members of the media at a news conference on voting rights outside the U.S. Capitol on July 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. More than sixty Texas House Democrats left the state overnight to Washington, DC, in order to block a voting restrictions bill by denying a Republican quorum. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has threatened to arrest the legislators when they returns to the state.  (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

  • WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 13:  Flanked by Texas state House Democrats, U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX) (C) speaks as Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) (R) and Texas State Rep. Chris Turner (D-District 101) (L), Chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, listen during a news conference on voting rights outside the U.S. Capitol July 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. More than sixty Texas House Democrats left the state overnight to Washington, DC, in order to block a voting restrictions bill by denying a Republican quorum. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has threatened to arrest the legislators when they return to the state. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Their absence from Austin also left the state Legislature without a quorum, meaning the GOP majority can’t vote on their own bill, even though it would likely pass.

But a coronavirus outbreak spread to at least six of the lawmakers this week, two people who interacted with them and is creating a secondhand risk for other individuals.

The combo punch has stymied the group’s hopes of meeting with members of Congress they hope to convince to support the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. 

An unnamed White House official and communications staffer for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi each contracted the virus at a reception for the Democratic lawmakers last week, according to an Axios report.

Fox News also spoke with several of the Texas lawmakers Wednesday who stepped aside during a meeting that they said involved the entire traveling caucus.

"All of us had been fully vaccinated since March," state Rep. Gene Wu wrote in a lengthy Twitter thread Monday. "We got complacent because we felt safe. We had no positives for months, and we got sloppy."

Everyone involved is believed to have been vaccinated, meaning the people who tested positive are among a small proportion of vaccine recipients who do so.

When questioned by Fox News’ Peter Doocy Tuesday about whether the ill-fated meeting was a "super-spreader" event, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki backed away from the term.

More than 10% of the traveling Democrats have now tested positive for the virus, Doocy noted – at least six out of 55.

"That is not a characterization we’re making here," Psaki said, referring to the "super-spreader" term. "Vaccines are not foolproof. We know vaccines – I think these individuals have been vaccinated. That is a good sign."

But Dr. Marc Siegel said that the term "super-spreader" is fair to use to describe the encounter – although there’s a bright side.

"A lot of people didn't get sick because they were vaccinated," he said. "This is a super-spreader event with less spread because of the vaccine – that's the glass half full."

If no one had been vaccinated, he added, everyone at the reception would have been at risk. And none of the vaccinated victims have shown serious symptoms. But despite the vaccinations, and the "word games," the illness still spread.

"They're creating divisiveness by refusing to acknowledge a medical reality," Dr. Siegel said of the White House's refusal to use the term.

According to a Cleveland Clinic, a super-spreader event is when "there’s a greater amount of transmission than would be expected" at a large event. 

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