SAN ANTONIO — A few days after announcing his 14-month-old granddaughter had tested positive for COVID-19, Texas Sen. Jose Menendez, who represents District 26 in San Antonio, said the virus had now infected him and others members of his family.
The state legislator announced the development in a Wednesday-evening Twitter post, adding that he and his relatives were diagnosed with the coronavirus despite the fact they were vaccinated. He pointed to the virus's impact on his immunized family as evidence of how dangerous COVID-19 can still be, and at a point when the Texas Legislature is conducting business in its second special session of the year.
"We still have time to do the right thing," he wrote in a letter to his legislative colleagues. "It is my hope that we will use this time to channel our focus into important matters at hand, matters that can save lives."
Menendez has served in the Texas Senate since 2015. His appeal comes as a resurgent coronavirus, exacerbated by the delta variant, has put nearly 10,500 infected Texans in the hospital, as of Wednesday.