‘Grateful for the Vaccine’: Jen Psaki Circles Back to White House Press Briefing Room After Absence Due To Covid

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki likes to “circle back.”

On Friday, she did just that as she returned to the White House’s James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, just over a week after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Psaki announced on Oct. 31 she tested positive for Covid. In her statement that day, she said that “in coordination with senior leadership at the White House,” she decided not to accompany President Joe Biden on his five-day trip to Europe that included going to the Vatican, where Biden, who is Catholic, met with Pope Francis; Rome for the G20; and in Scotland for a U.N. climate change conference.

Psaki said that “members of her household [tested] positive for Covid-19” and that she had quarantined and tested negative over four days afterward only to get a positive test the day before her announcement. She noted that she hadn’t “had close contact with the president or senior members of the White House since [the previous] Wednesday.”

Psaki reiterated on Friday that she made the announcement “out of an abundance of transparency” and that she experienced “mild symptoms, primarily fatigue.”

“And I remain incredibly grateful for the vaccine and the impact of the vaccine keeping me safe and other people in my house safe as well,” she continued.

Psaki said she continued her quarantine for another 10 days and, “per White House protocols,” took a test and tested negative on Thursday before returning on Friday.

When asked if she has any lingering symptoms, Psaki said, “I do not, fortunately.”

Watch above, via CBSN.