Does Politico Know Who Kamala Harris Is?

The vice president got high-quality medical care because she’s the goddamn vice president.

This is Kamala Harris. She is being sworn in as Vice President of the United States of America.Saul Loeb/Zuma

The coronavirus is a rapidly developing news story, so some of the content in this article might be out of date. Check out our most recent coverage of the coronavirus crisis, and subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.

Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for Covid on Tuesday, and Politico wants to know why she is receiving top-of-the-line health care to treat it. Yesterday’s “West Wing Playbook” newsletter dedicated many paragraphs to pondering medical ethics and why Harris is taking Paxlovid, a highly effective new retroviral medication for Covid-19. But a good answer is only six words long: BECAUSE SHE IS THE VICE PRESIDENT!

Harris is the next in line to run the most powerful country in the world. She is also infected with a virus that can cause short and longterm illness, even in people who are healthy and vaccinated. So why wouldn’t she and her doctors take all possible precautions? Paxlovid is available with a prescription from a doctor for those at high risk of developing a severe case of Covid-19. Is the vice president an obese, diabetic octogenarian? No, but neither is she a 25-year-old athlete. Most importantly, she needs to be able to run the country at a moment’s notice. 

Still, Politico wants to know “Why did Kamala take the Pfizer pill?” even though she is, as far as we know, asymptomatic. The newsletter quotes doctors who question the prescription:

“Why,” asked JONATHAN REINER, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, “would you give Paxlovid to someone without symptoms?”

Um, perhaps because she is the vice president?

Politico also contrasts Harris’ speedy access to Paxlovid with the difficulty many ordinary Americans have had accessing it: 

…medical ethicists argued that the moral rationalization for giving Harris the medication only underscores how unfair the system is.

“It’s what I make of the American health care system—better to be rich and connected,” said ARTHUR CAPLAN, a New York University professor of medical ethics.

Harris’ speedy access to Paxlovid sharply contrasts with the rest of the country’s ability to get it. The sheer logistics of finagling a prescription, and then finding the pills within days of symptom onset, has complicated the drug’s rollout after it was first authorized in December.

Yes, some people still have trouble getting Paxlovid. Yes, health care is better for the rich. Does that mean the vice president should not receive high-quality medical care? No—because she is the vice president. 

The newsletter did also quote Céline Gounder, a doctor who advised President Joe Biden’s transition team on Covid-19. Grounder, a practicing physician and epidemiologist, pointed out that Harris does indeed qualify for Paxlovid and that sometimes world leaders get good medical care for a reason. “It’s about what’s best for the nation,” she said.

That is the correct answer. Why are we even questioning this?

THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

payment methods

THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate