CNBC’s Jim Cramer says he has tested positive for the coronavirus, noting he is fully vaccinated and has received a booster shot.
“I have COVID. I came down with COVID on Thursday night,” Cramer said on the network on Monday morning.
“I know exactly how I got it. I was at an event where you had to have PCR [tests]. You had to be tested that day. I got it from someone who had to be tested that day,” he said. “And the problem is that it just works so fast.”
Cramer, who got the Moderna vaccine and booster, said he is isolating at home and has mild symptoms, something he called “a huge bummer.”
“There’s never been a cold that I’ve had that was as weak as this,” he said, assuring the network’s audience that he expects to recover quickly.
The bombastic financial news host and pundit earned headlines late last month when he suggested that President Biden implement a nationwide vaccine mandate for all citizens and deploy the U.S. military to administer it.
“So it’s time to admit that we have to go to war against COVID,” Cramer said at the time. “Require vaccination universally. Have the military run it. If you don’t want to get vaccinated, you better be ready to prove your conscientious objector status in court.”
In a tweet after announcing his diagnosis on air, Cramer said he was appearing on television on Monday “to show people you can come back quickly if vaccinated.”
“I fear if I hadn’t been 3x vaccinated i would be far more sick,” he said.
Public health experts have warned a winter surge of coronavirus cases, driven largely by new variants of the disease, is likely coming. Biden and leading public health officials have cited the increase in coronavirus cases as another reason it is important for those who are able to get vaccinated and receive a booster shot to do so.
“I think the level of arrogance of people who think they know what’s going on is pathetic,” Cramer said. “And I think that what’s happened is that it’s every man for himself … and all I can say is I got triple vaccinated and I don’t know what would happen if you’re not vaccinated but I would probably say that you aren’t up and around as I am.”