A Washington state senator critical of Democrat Gov. Jay Inslee's vaccine mandates is reportedly missing for weeks after contracting COVID-19 during a trip this fall to El Salvador.
Washington State Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, was last reported to have been flown to a hospital in Florida, but that is where the trail goes cold on his status, the Seattle Times reported.
Ericksen wrote to his colleagues in November, informing them he was positive for COVID-19 in El Salvador, needed monoclonal antibodies to treat the infection, and he had contracted a medevac flight to a Florida hospital to recover.
Colleagues and his staff said the family would provide further information, but "multiple" attempts to reach them by the newspaper have not yielded a response or more information, the Times reported.
Ericksen, 52 has been serving in the legislature since 1998, first serving six terms as a representative, then in the senate since 2010, according to The Hill.
"I really don't have any information," Ericksen's legislative assistant Sandy Ruff told the Bellingham Herald on Thursday. "It's all going through the family now."
The state's Secretary of the Senate Brad Hendrickson said there has not been any communication with Ericksen "during this whole ordeal."
The Herald reported Nov. 19 that Ericksen was in stable condition, and improving, during his recovery at a Fort Lauderdale hospital, attributing the information to former state Rep. Luanne Van Werven, who said she was in touch with the family.
Ericksen, whose vaccination status was not reported, was a vocal opponent of the state's COVID measures regarding vaccination mandates and other measures, according to the Associated Press.
The last press release on his official website from Nov. 1 criticized the state for its vaccine mandate, and introduced legislation that would prohibit "discrimination" against unvaccinated individuals.
"Washington state is No. 1 in government coercion," Ericksen wrote in the release. "But I don't think this is an honor the people of Washington want. This is the natural result of a system that allows the governor to declare an emergency and then keep his sweeping emergency powers as long as he likes.
"We passed the 600-day mark on Oct. 21, no end is in sight, and there are indications it could get worse."
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