Sarah Palin tests positive for COVID-19, delaying suit against New York Times

Jan. 24 (UPI) -- A judge on Monday postponed former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's defamation suit against The New York Times after she tested positive for COVID-19 and noted that she was unvaccinated.

Judge Jed Rakoff announced in court that he learned Sunday evening that Palin, 57, tested positive for COVID-19 through two rapid, at-home tests.

"She is, of course, unvaccinated," Rakoff said.

Rakoff delayed jury selection for the civil suit in Manhattan federal court until at least Feb. 3, warning the delay could extend further.

The former Alaska governor and mother of five, who became a national figure as the Republican candidate for vice president in 2008, filed the suit against the Times and its former editorial page editor over a 2017 editorial she clams damaged her reputation.

The 2017 editorial falsely suggested a link between her political rhetoric and the 2011 shooting spree that injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and killed six people, a newspaper correction shows.

Palin sued within two weeks of the article's first publication, but the case has stretched on for years amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

She was previously diagnosed with COVID-19 in March and told a conservative gathering in December she will get a COVID-19 vaccine "over my dead body."