Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Sunday that she has tested positive for COVID, has symptoms, and is recovering from home.
The brief statement posted to Twitter—along with a plea that everyone get their booster shot—is certain to rile up conservatives who last week seized on photos of her maskless in Florida.
Right-wing writer Brendon Leslie immediately jumped on the announcement, noting that AOC had been infected even though she is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
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“Their vaccination narrative is collapsing before our eyes,” Leslie tweeted.
Of course, public health officials have long said that being vaccinated does not stop people from being infected with the coronavirus, particularly the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
It does, however, appear to prevent severe illness in the vast majority of cases. Ocasio-Cortez got her booster shot in the fall.
The Democratic congresswoman traveled to Florida over the holiday break, and photos of her having an outdoor meal with her boyfriend and appearing at an outdoor drag event were cited as evidence of hypocrisy by Republicans like Gov. Ron DeSantis.
There is no mask mandate in place in Florida, and CDC guidance calls for masks to be worn “in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high community transmission.”
After a tweet from former Trump campaign adviser Steve Cortes that took aim at her boyfriend’s Birkenstock sandals, Ocasion-Cortes tweeted a withering response to the backlash.
“If Republicans are mad they can’t date me they can just say that instead of projecting their sexual frustrations onto my boyfriend’s feet. Ya creepy weirdos,” she wrote.
“It’s starting to get old ignoring the very obvious, strange, and deranged sexual frustrations that underpin the Republican fixation on me, women, & LGBT+ people in general.
“These people clearly need therapy, won’t do it, and use politics as their outlet instead. It’s really weird.”
Three dozen members of Congress have tested positive for COVID since the summer.
