Despite fully vaccinated & twice boosted US President tested positive for Coronavirus.
Biden tests positive for Covid. US President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, his administration announced, saying the 79-year-old leader was experiencing “mild symptoms” and would carry out his full duties while isolating at the White House.
“He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms,” the White House said in a statement, adding that Biden had begun taking Pfizer s anti-Covid pill Paxlovid.
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“Consistent with CDC guidelines, he will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time.”
Biden, 79, did not have a fever Thursday morning, the White House’s coronavirus coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told media. Biden has a runny nose, dry cough and is experiencing some fatigue, Jha said.
First lady Jill Biden told reporters that she tested negative Thursday morning.
“I talked to him just a few minutes ago. He’s doing fine, he’s feeling good,” she told reporters in Detroit.
This is the first time Biden has tested positive for Covid-19. He last tested negative on Tuesday, per Jean-Pierre. Paxlovid is Pfizer’s antiviral drug and is available via emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 in people 12 and older who are at high risk of severe illness. It requires a doctor’s prescription.
Biden received his first two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine ahead of his inauguration in January 2021, his first booster shot in September and his second booster vaccination on March 30.
Due to his age, Biden is at an increased risk for a more severe case of Covid-19, although the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says older adults being fully vaccinated and boosted significantly reduces their risk of hospitalization and death.
Biden had originally been scheduled to travel to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on Thursday for a speech on crime prevention, followed by a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in Philadelphia. He was also scheduled to travel to Orlando and Tampa, Florida, on Monday. But Jean-Pierre said Biden would be isolating at the White House “consistent with CDC guidelines.”
