Kaine, Holton test positive for COVID-19 antibodies

Sen. Tim Kaine announced Thursday that he and his wife, George Mason University interim President Anne Holton, have both tested positive for COVID-19, having taken antibody tests recently. He said in a statement that both have been symptom-free since mid-April.

“I tested positive for the flu earlier this year and was given standard medication to treat it,” Kaine said in a statement. “The symptoms lingered and I continued to receive treatment from my physician for the flu through mid-March. At the end of March, I experienced new symptoms that I initially thought were flu remnants and a reaction to an unusually high spring pollen count.”

Holton then had a fever, followed by congestion and eventually a cough, he said. Both talked to their physicians in early April, who said it was possible both had mild cases of COVID-19, but they were not tested then because of the national testing shortage. “We were both at home in Richmond, working remotely and isolated from others. By mid-April, we were symptom-free,” Kaine said.

In May, Kaine and Holton were given antibody tests, which test for the presence of COVID-19 antibodies in the bloodstream after the illness has subsided; most Virginians are given PCR tests that test saliva and are performed when a patient is exhibiting symptoms of the virus.

Holton said in a tweet that thanks to “stay-at-home guidance, we didn’t expose our vulnerable family, friends and colleagues.” Kaine said in his statement that although the presence of 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,” and they will continue following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

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