Psaki hits out at Aaron Rodgers Covid misinformation in first briefing back after being infected

The White House press secretary was asked about Mr Rodgers at the end of her first briefing since returning from quarantine

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday took a swipe at Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers for his promotion of unproven cures for Covid-19 and misinformation about the vaccines against the novel coronavirus.

Ms Psaki was ending her first outing at the White House briefing room lectern since testing positive for Covid-19 when a reporter asked if she had a reaction to celebrities such as Mr Rodgers and others who have chosen to deliberately spread false information about the efficacy of vaccines and promote unapproved treatments such as the anti-parasite drug Ivermectin.

Stepping back up to the microphone, she replied: “You know how we feel about misinformation. We’re against it”.

The top White House spokesperson announced that she’d tested positive for Covid-19 on 31 October, days after it became known that she would be replaced on President Joe Biden’s trip to the G20 summit in Rome and the Cop26 conference in Scotland by her principal deputy, Karine Jean-Pierre. Ms Psaki removed herself from the trip when she began a quarantine period after members of her family tested positive for the coronavirus.

Ms Psaki said she experienced “mild symptoms” from the virus, adding that she remains “incredibly grateful for the vaccine and the impact of the vaccine in keeping me safe and other people in my house safe as well”.