President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19.
He is ‘experiencing very mild symptoms,’ the White House says.
The White House stated today that President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19. Biden is suffering from minor symptoms and has begun taking Paxlovid, an antiviral medication.
The announcement comes after a nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 infections caused by the highly transmissible BA.5 strain. Biden spent most of yesterday traveling and giving a speech in Massachusetts about the administration’s renewable energy goals.
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According to NPR, the president “lingered for long chats, posed for photographs, and offered embraces at the Congressional Picnic on the White House South Lawn” the week before the positive test. During a four-day journey to the Middle East, he shook hands with regional leaders and attended meetings and other events without a mask, according to NPR.
According to a letter from Biden’s doctor, his symptoms are very moderate and include exhaustion, a runny nose, and a dry cough that began on Wednesday evening.
here’s a letter from Biden’s doctor. pic.twitter.com/mJuGBjju1v
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 21, 2022
The letter, delivered to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, states that the doctor believes Biden would respond well to Paxlovid therapy since he is “completely protected” against the virus and has received two boosters.
Biden’s age of 79 puts him at an elevated risk of significant COVID-19 symptoms, while unvaccinated elderly persons are at a considerably higher risk than the double-boosted president. According to the White House, he will be isolated until he tests negative and will “continue to carry out all of his duties fully throughout that time.”
Former President Donald Trump, Biden’s predecessor, also tested positive for COVID-19 while in office. There were no immunizations available at the time, in 2020. Trump was admitted to the hospital and given an experimental antibody therapy.
COVID-19 has been a pivotal moment in Biden’s presidency. He issued a national pandemic plan on his first full day in office. The efficiency of that strategy has been uneven, compounded by new variations that have spread swiftly over the world.
Staffers and officials within the White House are obliged to test before coming into touch with the president, and meetings are socially isolated, but masks are optional, ABC News reported in April during an increase in instances around the president. At the time, White House press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged that Biden potentially have COVID-19 but stated that there were no plans to boost testing or impose masks near the president.