Sen. Sanders: I have tested positive for Covid.

[Donkees]

I have tested positive for Covid. My symptoms are minimal and I will continue to work from home in Vermont while isolating in accordance with CDC guidance. I am glad to be fully up to date with the vaccine.
10:29 AM · Dec 28, 2023

@SenSanders

[TwilightZone]

1. Get well, Bernie.

[MustLoveBeagles]

2. I wish Bernie well

I hope he feels better soon.

[malaise]

3. Get well soon

Senator Sanders

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. I hope he will recover quickly. All the best, Senator Sanders! nt

[debm55]

5. Get well, Bernie

[Omnipresent]

6. Once he took off the mittens...

The mask soon followed.

[WhiteTara]

7. for amoment I read that as Sarah Sanders and

I thought well, they have counted one case in Arkansas...but I hope the Senator recovers quickly without lasting effects.

[Donkees]

8. 🔥

[Lunabell]

9. Get well soon!!

Being vaxxed, I hope hos symptoms stay mild and he has no long term problems.

[Hekate]

10. To quote Bernie: "You ah a United States Senatah. Sit down." Come back soon, Senator Sanders...

Take good care of yourself.

[Nanjeanne]

11. Get well soon Senator Sanders. We need your voice.

[RocRizzo55]

12. Even though you are not officially a Democrat

We wish you the speediest of recoveries.

[mountain grammy]

14. Get well soon Bernie!

[Bayard]

15. Be well, Senator

Healing vibes to you.

[Celerity]

16. get well soon Senator Sanders

[orleans]

17. crap! i'm sorry to hear this. please get well soon, bernie.

[sarge43]

18. Good thoughts and vibes, Senator

Get well soon.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

19. Working while you're sick increases the chance of developing long covid. He should rest.

[Emile]

20. Hate to hear this. We have a spike of COVID

here in Indiana. Next Tuesday we have our six month checkup with our doctor. We will definitely be wearing masks in the waiting room.

[berniesandersmittens]

21. Hoping for a speedy recovery

[progressoid]

22. Get well Bernie!

[SoFlaBro]

23. Oh, no! This is terrible news. I can't believe he has gotten so sick.

[Ms. Toad]

25. All I've seen is that he has mild symptoms.

Do you have a source that he is "so sick"?

[SoFlaBro]

26. The illness affects the elderly much more than those that are younger. This is terrible news.

[Ms. Toad]

27. On average, yes.

Nothing I have seen suggests that Senator Sanders is among those elderly being severely affected. The most recent report I have seen describes his symptoms as mild.

Do you have information to the contrary?

[JI7]

24. Has he had it before ?

[Celerity]

28. Bernie Sanders was the only lawmaker masked at State of the Union -- and people noticed

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavirus/article272269788.html

FEBRUARY 08, 2023

Amid a sea of hundreds of attendees at the State of the Union address on Feb. 7, just one lawmaker — Bernie Sanders — was spotted wearing a mask. The 81-year-old senator’s decision sparked discussion online from across the political spectrum. Some members of the medical community and Sanders’ supporters praised the Vermont senator’s decision. “Sen Bernie Sanders looks like the only person in the House chamber wearing a mask. There are 34 Senators over age 70,” Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist and CNN medical analyst tweeted. “Undoubtedly there’s more than one person in that room with COVID.”

Stephanie Quilao, a former Sanders delegate in the 2016 presidential election, tweeted “Bernie Sanders is currently in the US trending list simply because he showed up to the #SOTU2023 being himself.” “Wearing a mask,” Quilao said. “What a great image of leadership acknowledging that Covid is still happening. More reason why Bernie is the most popular Democrat (caucus) in the US.”

Others online were less enthused by Sanders’ masking. “If you think you looked stupid today, just know that Bernie Sanders was the only member of Congress still wearing a mask at the State of the Union,” comedian Tim Young tweeted. “If folks like @BernieSanders want to wear a mask, knock your socks off. Mask up inside your car? Go for it. Place four masks on while alone in the park? Party on. What’s not acceptable? Imposing mask mandates based on fear, not science, especially when it comes to kids in school,” Stefan Mychajliw, a former Republican comptroller in New York, tweeted.

Over a year ago, Sanders introduced legislation that would have provided every American with N95 masks. But in the time since then, public support for mask mandates has plummeted, according to Oct. 2022 polling from Monmouth University. Only 25% of respondents were in favor of reinstituting masking guidelines, down from 63% a year earlier. National rates of deaths and hospitalization as a result of COVID-19 are currently far below their peaks in Feb. 2021 and 2022, with an average of 493 people dying daily from the virus, according to the CDC. Local community spread in D.C. is considered low by the CDC’s rating scale.

snip