State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box contracts COVID-19 for 2nd time
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana State Heath Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box has tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating at home, the Indiana Department of Health announced Wednesday.
The health department says Box experienced symptoms Monday night — including muscle aches, chills, coughing and a sore throat — and a rapid test taken Tuesday morning came back positive.
Box also received a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which will be used to determine if she was infected with the omicron variant.
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She is one of an estimated 113,000 Hoosiers who have suffered a breakthrough case since Jan. 18, 2021, according to the health department. Box is fully vaccinated and received a booster in November.
This is the second time Box has contracted COVID-19. The health department says she also tested positive in October 2020.
She will follow the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance and isolate at home for five days.
Box was named as the state health commissioner on Sept. 18, 2017.