State Rep. Sara Walsh and husband contract COVID-19; husband on ventilator

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri state Rep. Sara Walsh said she and her husband, Steve, have contracted the COVID-19 virus and her husband is hospitalized on a ventilator.

Walsh, a Republican from Ashland, said Thursday she is home recovering from the virus. She posted on Twitter asking people to pray for her husband, who she said is "very sick."

She is currently running for U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler's 4th congressional seat. Her husband is Hartzler's press secretary.

The couple was not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Walsh said she did not get the vaccine because it has not been fully approved the the federal Food and Drug Administration and she was concerned about risk factors, KRCG-TV reported.

She also said she had friends who had negative reactions to the vaccine and she was not concerned about being vaccinated because she had been healthy since the pandemic began.

Walsh was first elected to the state House in 2017 and serves on the influential House Budget Committee and leads a budget subcommittee.