Texas congressman Kevin Brady says he’s tested positive for COVID-19

U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, spoke on a panel for the Lincoln Reagan Dinner, at the Bayou City Events Center in Houston in 2017. Credit: Spike Johnson for The Texas Tribune

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U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, has tested positive for the coronavirus, he said on Twitter on Tuesday evening.

Brady, a ranking member of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, said he will begin treatment on Wednesday and should “be fine.”

The Republican lawmaker said he received his first injection of the coronavirus vaccine on Dec. 18 and tested negative for COVID-19 on New Year’s Day. Still, experts say it takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity after being vaccinated and that getting sick before completing a two-dose regimen should not undermine the potency of the vaccine.

Brady, 65, did not immediately release further details. It is unclear how he contracted the virus.

Earlier this week, U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, a high-ranking member of Texas’ congressional delegation, tested positive for the coronavirus. She previously said she was “asymptomatic and feeling great,” and planned to remain under the care of her doctor.

Multiple state leaders have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began. The first statewide elected official to publicly confirm a positive coronavirus test was Texas Supreme Court Justice Debra Lehrmann in May. Other state lawmakers, including Rep. Tony Tinderholt, Sen. Kel Seliger and outgoing House Speaker Dennis Bonnen have tested positive. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller also tested positive in early December.


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