Chief Justice John Roberts has received both doses of Covid vaccine, court says

Chief Justice John Roberts has received his two doses of the coronavirus vaccine, the Supreme Court said Monday.

“The Chief Justice has taken steps to protect against infection, including minimizing contact with staff, regular testing, and receiving both doses of the Pfizer vaccine,” public information officer Kathy Arberg wrote in an email, responding to questions from CNN about precautions to prevent exposure to the virus.

She declined to say when Roberts, who turns 66 on January 27, received the second dose.

The nine justices are hearing oral arguments via teleconference and most are working from home. But Roberts goes into the building regularly. Other justices occasionally work at the court.

About 100 of the 350 non-security court staffers have been working in the building.

Members of Congress, along with the justices, began getting their first doses of the vaccine in mid-December through the Capitol physician’s office. Court officials have generally declined to reveal the status of the justices’ vaccinations or other Covid precautions for staff.

Arberg told CNN on Monday that, “all employees adhere to recommended (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) health guidelines in the workplace and stay at home if experiencing any symptoms, have tested positive themselves, or have been exposed to someone who has tested positive or is experiencing symptoms.”

With few exceptions, the justices have remained behind closed doors since March because of the pandemic, and information about their health is rarely revealed.

Court officials acknowledged last July, after The Washington Post received a tip, that Roberts had fallen a few weeks earlier at a Maryland country club. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital and spent the night. The court said physicians attributed the fall to light-headedness caused by dehydration and ruled out a seizure. Roberts previously had two reported seizures, in 1993 and 2007.