, the US Secretary of Homeland Security, was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday, just one day after touring a high-level biohazard lab with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and
Senator Rand Paul. The timing has raised questions, but officials say it was an allergic reaction. Still, the situation is raising eyebrows in political circles.
The visit was initiated in response to concerns about the lab's safety culture. The timing has sparked speculation and calls for transparency.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted a picture of them both at a biosafety facility that had been temporarily closed because of safety concerns.
The Health and Human Services Secretary posted a photo of himself at the Integrated Research Facility in Frederick, Maryland, with Republican Sen. Rand Paul and Noem, captioning the photo, "With @Sec_Noem and @SenRandPaul inspecting the biological hazard labs at Fort Detrick.”
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at DHS Tricia McLaughlin told the Daily Beast that Noem was taken to the hospital by ambulance on Tuesday because of a "allergic reaction."
“She was transported to the hospital out of an abundance of caution. She is alert and recovering,” he stated, as per a report.
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The allergic reaction's source is still unknown, and there is no proof that the incident was anything more than an odd coincidence.
Fort Detrick's Integrated Research Facility investigates viruses that are "causing high-consequence disease," including SARS-CoV-2 and Ebola, according to its website.
One of its focal points is to alleviate significant public health incidents associated with emerging or reemerging infectious diseases or biological warfare assaults.
The MAHA Institute announced on X that Noem, Paul, and Kennedy visited the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases biosecurity laboratory at Fort Detrick on Monday, as per a report by the Daily Beast.
In April, the lab was placed on indefinite work stoppage by Kennedy's department. When the safety stand-down occurred, an NIH spokesperson told WIRED that it "follows identification and documentation of personnel issues involving contract staff that compromised the facility's safety culture."
Fox News was informed by an unnamed HHS official that the incident was caused by a "lover's spat" between researchers at the facility, in which one of them allegedly poked holes in the other's PPE.
Kennedy declared in May that because of the hazardous pathogens being handled at the Integrated Research Facility, the FBI was looking into a possible "deliberate criminal act" there. Kennedy's office was pressed by
There is no confirmed link, but the close timing has raised concerns. Officials say it was simply an allergic reaction.
The lab works with dangerous pathogens and had recently paused work due to serious safety concerns, including the possibility of sabotage.
