The last time we were hearing from Sarah Palin, she was recycling her NRA talking points to explain how she was never going to get vaccinated against COVID-19. “It’ll be over my dead body that I’ll have to get a shot,” Palin yelled to a Phoenix, Arizona, crowd in December 2021. She also reminded the crowd that she was that lady who said that “mama bear” thing they might remember: “I will not do that. I won’t do it, and they better not touch my kids either.” 

On Monday, the First Amendment trial Palin brought against The New York Times was set to begin. Palin filed a lawsuit against the Times in 2017, claiming she was defamed by the newspaper. Many people who have been waiting to see how this attempt at squashing a free press will go now have to wait as Palin has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19. This would be the second time the “unvaccinated” Palin has reportedly caught COVID-19. The blight of Alaska told PEOPLE back in March 2021 that she and her children had tested positive for the virus.

But there are lots of questions about this recent turn of events.

Court House News reporter Nina Pullano reports that U.S. District Court Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who is overseeing the defamation trial, and Palin’s lawyers had this interesting exchange:

Rakoff: “Since she was apparently tested positive 3 times, I’m going to assume that she’s positive.”

The Washington Post reports Rakoff said he had heard that Palin tested positive last night, and noted: “She is, of course, unvaccinated.” But as many people have pointed out, the “confusion” on Palin’s part—along with a report that she spent a dinner inside of a New York City restaurant on Saturday—is making people wonder whether or not this “anti-vaxxer” is really unvaccinated.

Many people have pointed out New York City has strict requirements for proof of vaccination when dining indoors. Besides the fact that everyone dining inside at Elio’s on the Upper East Side of Manhattan Saturday night needs to be aware they were potentially exposed, this means one of three things: Elios’ staff broke the indoor dining rules and did not check for proof that Palin had been vaccinated; Palin is vaccinated; the restaurant did check, and Palin showed false proof saying she was vaccinated. 

In January 2021, Palin announced that her mother, Sally Sheeran Heath, had passed away at the age of 80. While no cause was given for Heath’s passing, Palin pointed out that her father, Chuck Heath, had received the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine sometime in March. So while Palin has been openly anti-vaxx in recent months, she did not seem particularly against the COVID-19 vaccine when he father was taking it earlier this year.

During that same interview in March 2021, she promoted mask-wearing while talking about her appearance on television show The Masked Singer in 2020. “Through it all, I view wearing that cumbersome mask indoors in a crowd as not only allowing the newfound luxury of being incognito, but trust it’s better than doing nothing to slow the spread.”

Since being unleashed on America by former Sen. John McCain back in 2008, Palin has brought her special brand of barely coherent word salad to microphones and anyone willing to interview her. She has also tried to insinuate herself into recent grownup conversations with disastrous results.

Whether you have been vaccinated or not, and whether you have previously had COVID-19, breakthrough cases can and will continue to occur. At this point, the best hope most of us have is that in practicing good health measures, getting vaccinated, and trying to limit our exposure, we will not end up in the hospital. 

Rakoss pushed the trial’s opening until Thursday, Feb. 3.