Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has died from complication of COVID-19 at the age of 84.
His family says he passed away this morning and that he was fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. They thanked the medical staff at Walter Reed and said "we have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American." Powell was a four-star general in the U.S. Army and the first African-American U.S. Secretary of State. He served under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. A source familiar with the matter said Powell had multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells that suppresses the body's immune response. Even if fully vaccinated against Covid-19, those who are immunocompromised are at greater risk from the virus.
"We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American," the family said. Former President Bush said in a statement Monday that Powell was "a great public servant" who was "such a favorite of Presidents that he earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- twice. He was highly respected at home and abroad. And most important, Colin was a family man and a friend."