Sen. Tim Kaine Tests Positive for COVID-19 Antibodies

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), accompanied by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and other senators, speaks during a news conference outside of the Senate chamber, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 14, 2020. (Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who was Hillary Clinton’s vice-presidential running mate in 2016, announced that both he and his wife Anne tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, meaning that it’s likely he was infected with the CCP virus.

Kaine is the second senator to have presumably tested positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, a novel coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease, after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he contracted the virus and self-quarantined.

“We each tested positive for coronavirus antibodies this month. While those antibodies could make us less likely to be re-infected or infect others, there is still too much uncertainty over what protection antibodies may actually provide. So we will keep following CDC guidelines,” Kaine said in a statement, referring to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We encourage others to do so as well. It shows those around you that you care about them,” he said of the guidelines.

CDC guidelines on COVID-19 antibody tests note that a positive antibody test result does not necessarily indicate immunity from the virus. False-positive results are also a possibility.

“Serologic test results do not indicate with certainty the presence or absence of current or previous infection with SARS-CoV-2,” the CDC writes on its website.

Kaine, in his statement, said he tested positive for influenza earlier in 2020 and was given “standard medication to treat it.” Those symptoms, however, lingered and he continued to receive treatment from his doctor until mid-March, he said.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in the Senate subway area of the Capitol in Washington on Feb. 4, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

But at the end of March, Kaine recalled that he developed “new symptoms” that he initially believed was the flu combined with allergies.

“Then Anne experienced a short bout of fever and chills, followed by congestion and eventually a cough,” the senator added. The two then spoke to their health providers in April, with both telling the couple that they may have mild cases of the CCP virus.

The two were both home in Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and working remotely. “We were not tested for the virus but continued isolating,” Kaine said, adding that he and his wife were free of symptoms in mid-April.

Paul in early April announced that he recovered from the CCP virus after testing positive in March. Paul was the first senator to contract the disease.

“I have been retested and I am negative,” the Kentucky Republican wrote on Twitter at the time. “I have started volunteering at a local hospital to assist those in my community who are in need of medical help, including Coronavirus patients. Together we will overcome this!”