Surgeon general tests positive for COVID-19

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy announced Friday that he has tested positive for COVID-19, days after he said that his 4-year-old daughter had the virus.

Murthy wrote on Twitter that his wife and his 5-year-old son were also positive for the virus and had “mild symptoms.” His daughter is “doing ok” and has an improving fever, he added.

Murthy used the occasion to reflect on what it means to get the virus after being careful.

“Our safety measures reduce risk but they can’t eliminate risk. Nothing can,” he tweeted.

“When you’ve been as safe as you can, getting COVID-19 can be frustrating and disappointing,” he wrote. “I’ve felt that. It can also be a source of shame. Many people assume you must have been careless to get sick.”

Murthy’s 4-year-old daughter is too young to be vaccinated, and the timeline for authorization of the vaccine for that age group was recently pushed back to collect more data on a third dose. The delay has been a source of frustration for some parents.