Nebraska state senator on contracting COVID-19: ‘I finally got my wish’

Nebraska state Sen. Mike Groene has contracted COVID-19 after previously saying he was hoping he would.

“As you know, I finally got my wish and cont[r]acted the COVID-19 virus. As I suspected it would happen,” he wrote in an email to other state lawmakers, as reported by the Lincoln Journal Star.

The Republican senator is a proponent of “herd immunity” and has touted it as a potential solution to the global pandemic. He often doesn’t wear a mask while carrying out his legislative duties but doesn’t go out of his way to try and get infected either, he claims.

“I didn’t do anything different than anybody else,” he said, according to KETV Omaha. “I isolate more than most people do. I was at my legislative work in Lincoln and had contact. And I’m glad I got it and got it over with. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

He believes he picked up the coronavirus at committee hearings either on Oct. 23 or Oct. 27.

Groene said that his symptoms were mild, “no more than a minor flu,” and included night sweats and a fever of about 100 degrees, the Journal Star reports.

“I’ve been sick a lot of times. This is not different. This is not cancer. My God this hysteria,” Groene, 65, said.

Groene claims he protected himself and others throughout his illness and now can use his antibodies to fight the pandemic.

“I followed the rules. I protected my neighbor. I did it the right way. And I plan on donating blood as soon as I can so I can help others.”

Experts have been quick to blast the herd immunity strategy, with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci calling it “nonsense.”

Among the reasons for doubting its effectiveness is a lack of adequate research findings on whether someone previously infected with COVID-19 can become reinfected in the future and the high health risks associated with the disease.

“Covid-19 carries a much higher risk of severe disease and death than other infections where herd immunity was attempted before a vaccine was available,” various public health groups said in a statement. “It is illogical to ignore public health and scientific evidence when so many lives are at stake.”