Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who is famous for pushing Trump-era ideals about COVID-19, going as far as barring mask and vaccine mandates earlier this summer, recently made headlines for testing positive for the virus.
“I am now testing negative for Covid,” Abbott wrote on Twitter on Aug. 21. “I am told that my infection was brief and mild because of the vaccination I received. I will keep working on issues affecting Texas.”
Abbott received the Pfizer-BioNTech shot last year.
“I will never ask any Texan to do something that I’m not willing to do myself,” Abbott said moments before getting vaccinated at a televised event at Ascension Seton Medical Center, as reported in the Texas Tribune, in 2020.
The governor’s positive test came just as Texas and the rest of the nation are experiencing a resurgence in cases.
“A new wave is hitting us now,” Dr. Randy Olsen, professor of clinical pathology and genomic medicine at Houston Methodist, said on the hospital’s website. “COVID-19 cases are again rising across the country, particularly in the Houston metroplex, with the Delta variant accounting for the vast majority of new cases. This variant is showing us how concerning it is, and it underscores the need to continue vaccination efforts.”
The governor tested positive on Aug. 17 but was asymptomatic. He said he is going to continue to quarantine per his doctors’ advice.
“All Americans are free to make their own health decisions, but I strongly encourage getting vaccinated,” Abbott tweeted last week, Yahoo News reported. “It is scientifically proven to drastically reduce the risk of severe illness and death from COVID.”