Arizona state senator tests positive for COVID-19 in breakthrough case

PHOENIX — An Arizona state senator is urging vigilance amid rising COVID-19 numbers in the state after testing positive for the virus despite being fully vaccinated.

Sen. Tony Navarrete confirmed Tuesday he has tested positive for the virus after both a rapid test and a PCR COVID-19 test were conducted last week.

Navarrete said in a press release that he received his final vaccine shot in February.

He has mild symptoms and is isolating at home, according to the release.

“COVID-19 cases are once surging in Arizona and across the country and we need to be vigilant,” Navarrete, a Democrat, said in the release. “Thankfully with the vaccine, my diagnosis is not a death sentence, but an uncomfortable inconvenience.

“I know that people are tired and frustrated, but it’s time to mask up again. The best defense is getting the vaccine and masking up in public, crowded spaces.”

COVID-19 cases are once again on the rise fueled by the more transmissible delta variant of the virus.

Daily reported cases of the virus are in the thousands after not seeing numbers that high since March.

The percent positivity for diagnostic testing conducted last week was 15% as of Tuesday’s update, the highest since January.

The emergence of the delta variant resulted in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week updating its recommendations that even fully vaccinated people should wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission of the virus, which applies to most of Arizona.

The CDC says those who are fully vaccinated are less likely to become infected and, if infected, to develop symptoms of COVID-19 while also having a reduced risk of severe illness and death from the virus compared with unvaccinated people.

Hospitalizations related to COVID-19 have more than doubled since the start of July, with unvaccinated people accounting for almost all of the serious illnesses and deaths.

Infections in fully vaccinated people, like Navarrete, happen in only a small portion of people, even with the delta variant, according to the CDC.

As of Tuesday morning, the Arizona Department of Health Services reported 52.3% of the state’s eligible population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine and more than 3.3 million people are considered fully vaccinated against the virus.

Follow @TaDunham