VP Harris flight to Vietnam delayed for possible health issue in Hanoi

The State Department has often used "anomalous health incidents" to refer to the Havana Syndrome.
US Vice President Kamala Harris leaves her plane, as she arrives for the second leg of her Asia trip, at the airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, on August, 24, 2021.
By Natalia Mittelstadt

Vice President Kamala Harris' flight from Singapore to Hanoi, Vietnam was delayed for three hours on Tuesday, following a "possible anomalous health incident" in the city, according to the State Department.

The vice president's communications director, Symone Sanders, told reporters, "I will note you all saw the vice president out on the tarmac. She is well, all is fine and looking forward to meetings in Hanoi tomorrow."

"This has nothing to do with the vice president's health," she continued, according to The Hill.

The State Department said in a 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."

According to Bloomberg, the State Department has often used "anomalous health incidents" to refer to the Havana Syndrome, which has affected many American diplomats and intelligence officials. In July, NBC News reported that as many as 200 U.S citizens may have Havana Syndrome, according to their symptoms.

Beginning in 2016, many U.S. diplomats in China and Cuba reported experiencing symptoms such as blurred vision, headaches, and vertigo. Some brain injuries were consistent with directed microwave energy effects, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine's report last year, which also noted was something Russia has studied for some time, NBC News reported.

Harris was originally scheduled to leave from Singapore to Vietnam on Tuesday afternoon local time, but instead, reporters were sent back to their hotel rooms for over three hours without an explanation, according to The Hill. The vice president left Singapore for Vietnam about three hours behind schedule.

She is set to meet with both Vietnamese President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Wednesday. Harris is also scheduled to speak at the launch of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regional office in Hanoi.