US Vice President Kamala Harris (R) talks to Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (centre L) as she departs from Paya Lebar Air Base in Singapore on August 24, 2021. (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
NEW YORK - Vice President Kamala Harris' trip from Singapore to Vietnam was delayed Tuesday after a report of a "recent possible anomalous health incident" in Hanoi.
The U.S. government uses ‘anomalous health incident’ to described Havana Syndrome. It was first reported in 2016 after diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Havana reported headaches, fatigue, hearing and vision loss, severe and debilitating cognitive impairment, tinnitus, brain fog, vertigo, and loss of motor control.
No cause has been determined, but similar unexplained health ailments have since been reported by Americans serving at diplomatic posts in other countries.
The flight was delayed for more than three hours and Symone Sanders, Harris' chief spokesperson, refused to explain. Unprompted, Sanders volunteered that Harris was "well" although reporters had seen the vice president several times Tuesday and had no reason to be concerned about her health.
The VP and her delegation were expected to arrive Tuesday night in the Asian nation as part of the second leg of her trip overseas. Earlier, Harris had delivered a speech in Singapore, castigating China for its incursions into the South China Sea, and a discussion of supply chain issues with business leaders.
Harris' office referred questions to the State Department. The U.S. embassy in Vietnam issued the following statement:
"Earlier this evening, the Vice President’s traveling delegation was delayed from departing Singapore because the Vice President’s office was made aware of a report of a recent possible anomalous health incident in Hanoi, Vietnam. After careful assessment, the decision was made to continue with the Vice President’s trip. The delegation will leave Singapore tonight and arrive in Hanoi, Vietnam."
RELATED: US renews call for Cuba to probe cause of health 'attacks'
The anomalous health incidents in Cuba were described as "attacks" early on.
In 2018, the United States renewed calls for the Cuban government to determine the source of health "attacks" on U.S. diplomats in Cuba affected some two dozen people. Cuba denied any involvement or knowledge of any such attacks.
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Harris makes history
Kamala Harris is the nation's first woman and person of color to become vice president. She identifies as Black and South Asian.
The U.S. government issued health alerts to Americans in China after a worker at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou reported symptoms and strange sounds and was flown to the U.S. That worker was then medically confirmed to have "suffered a medical incident consistent with what other U.S. government personnel experienced in Havana, Cuba," the department has said.
Unexplained sounds and vibrations that accompanied the symptoms initially led investigators to suspect a sonic weapon, though the FBI later found no evidence that sound waves could have damaged the Americans' health.
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With the Associated Press