Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley is now under quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19.
According to NBC 5 News, Judge Whitley broke the news of his infection during a Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting earlier this week.
Judge Whitley, who attended the meeting virtually, said he had not experienced any severe symptoms.
The Tarrant County Judge added that he has been treating himself with the antiviral pill Paxlovid, a drug known to cut down the chances of hospitalization in high-risk patients by around 89% if administered within the first five days of symptoms.Â
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Paxlovid, dubbed the first COVID-19 antiviral pill in the U.S., in December 2022. The drug works to stop the virus from replicating inside human cells before the infected person becomes seriously ill.Â
For the drug to be effective, dosing needs to begin within three to five days of the onset of symptoms. The medication regimen requires patients to take 30 or 40 pills of Paxlovid over five days.Â
Aside from preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 symptoms in at-risk adults because of age or underlying conditions, Paxlovid also dramatically reduces the risk of death due to COVID.
Whitley also credited his mild symptoms to being fully vaccinated and receiving the booster.
“I’m feeling okay. Thankfully, my symptoms are mild,” Whitley told the commissioner’s court. “I’ve had a little bit of cough, which seems to get worse the more I talk, so I’m sure, to everyone’s delight, I’m going to try to keep my comments brief.”
The Tarrant County Judge said he initially thought he had a sinus infection but went to see a doctor as a precaution. Judge Whitley did a COVID-19 test in the hospital, and the results came back positive.
Judge Whitley hopes to return to the commissioner’s court soon and said he has been working on contact tracing with Tarrant County Public Health Director Vinny Taneja’s team.
Paxlovid performs the exact same function of stopping the virus from replicating it taken early as Ivermectin, it’s just that it’s not generic & therefore very expensive versus Ivermectin. If you performed actual investigative reporting, you would know this & represent your constituents & readers and not Big Pharma.