Harris' Visit to The View Has Unpleasant COVID Hiccup

The View had plugged VP Kamala Harris' visit on Friday as her first in-studio talk-show appearance since taking office. It didn't quite work out that way. Minutes before Harris was to appear, two of the four co-hosts were asked to leave the set during the live broadcast because they had tested positive for COVID, reports NBC News. "I need the two of you to step off for a second," a producer was heard telling Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro. They exited the set, leaving Joy Behar and Sara Haines to carry on. The Harris interview was pushed back a bit, and when the vice president finally did appear, it was via a remote location, not on set.

"Listen, Sunny and Ana are strong women and I know they're fine but it really also does speak to the fact that they're vaccinated and vaccines really do make all the difference," said Harris, per CNN. "Because otherwise, we would be concerned about hospitalization or worse." Hostin and Navarro are indeed vaccinated, Behar confirmed for the audience. "No matter how hard we try, these things happen," she said. "They probably had a breakthrough case and they'll be OK, I'm sure." The White House says Harris did not have any contact with the pair before the show. If you're wondering where Whoopi Goldberg was, People notes that she wasn't there Friday because of what was described as a flare-up of sciatica. (More Kamala Harris stories.)