Former US secretary of state Colin Powell succumbs to COVID-19 complications [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell has died Monday of Covid-19 complications at age 84.
• Powell was fully vaccinated but had other health problems.
• In July, Powell spoke about his battle with multiple myeloma, a white blood cell cancer, for nearly two years.

Colin Powell, the first Black U.S. secretary of state, a top military officer and a national security adviser, died on Monday morning at age 84 due to complications from COVID-19. He was fully vaccinated, his family said.

Powell had multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that was in remission, and early-stage Parkinson’s disease, said a close friend. The blood cancer reduces the body’s ability to fight infection and puts people at higher risk for a severe case of the virus.

Powell served three Republican presidents in senior posts and ascended to leadership of the U.S. military as it was regaining its vigor after the trauma of the war in Vietnam, where he served two tours as an Army officer.

He was the top U.S. military officer when American-led forces drove Iraqi troops from Kuwait in 1991 and the chief U.S. diplomat in 2003 when Washington relied on erroneous intelligence about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to justify its invasion of Iraq.

The New York native considered running for president in 1996, but his wife Alma’s worries about his safety helped him decide otherwise. In 2008, he broke with his party to endorse Democrat Barack Obama, who became the first Black person elected to the White House.

Illustrating his deep misgivings about the evolution of the Republican Party as it has moved to the right, Powell endorsed Democrats Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election and Biden last year against Donald Trump. Powell called Trump a liar who presented a danger to the United States.

Biden, who painted his 2020 presidential candidacy against Trump as a fight for the United States’ soul, thanked Powell for bucking his Republican Party to back him.

“I am forever grateful for his support of my candidacy for president and for our shared battle for the soul of the nation,” Biden said.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said hospitalization and death are “extremely rare” among the fully vaccinated and said Powell’s death underscored that underlying health issues and other diseases can lead to greater risk from the virus.

“He had two very serious underlying conditions. And unfortunately, (vaccination) didn’t work. God love him,” President Biden told reporters at a White House event. He again implored all Americans to get vaccinated.

Source: Reuters