The White House said Thursday that President Joe Biden has tested positive for the Covid virus, raising concerns about his immediate health and highlighting the ongoing pandemic in his presidency.
The White House said Biden, who was fully vaccinated and received a double dose, had "very mild" symptoms. He also started taking Pfizer's antiviral pill Baxlovid. The drug, when taken within five days of onset of symptoms, has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by approximately 90% in adults at risk of severe disease.
"In accordance with CDC guidelines, he will be isolated in the White House and will continue to perform all of his duties during this time," White House Press Secretary Karen Jean-Pierre said in a statement. This isolation period will last at least five days, but the president will not resume normal activities until he receives a negative antigen test directed for Covid, Ashish Jha, the coordinator of the Covid response in the House of Representatives, said during Thursday's briefing.
Biden underwent a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test as part of a routine screening program, Kevin C. O'Connor, the president's physician, wrote in a letter.
The president began experiencing mild symptoms, including a runny nose, fatigue and occasional cough, Wednesday evening, according to the doctor. He has also reported sleep disturbances, Jha said, adding that Biden is breathing well with normal oxygen levels.
It's unclear exactly when Biden's symptoms began, with his doctor saying his cough and runny nose started Wednesday night, while Jha said those symptoms started Thursday morning.
Jha confirmed that while taking Baxlovid, the president stopped taking cholesterol and blood-thinning medications, which is a normal practice when taking antiviral medications. The White House physician, as part of a plan formulated in the event Biden contracted the virus, consulted infectious disease experts at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and George Washington University.
"The president has been fully vaccinated and has received two boosters, so I expect him to respond positively, as will most of the more protected patients," the doctor wrote.
The announcement came before Biden traveled to Pennsylvania for an event to discuss gun violence, as well as a Democratic fundraiser that evening. It also comes after Biden returned from a trip to the Middle East, where the highly contagious type of coronavirus BA.5 has raised concerns about another wave of infections around the world.
In his first tweet since testing positive, Biden bitterly assured the audience that he was "doing a great job" and thanked people for their concern.
"Keep busy!" Biden wrote. Referring to a phone call with lawmakers in Pennsylvania in which he apologized for canceling Thursday's scheduled attendance. The Associated Press reported that he plans to travel to Scranton to propose a significant increase in police funding.
A White House official said Vice President Kamala Harris tested negative for Covid Thursday morning. The last time he was with Biden was on Tuesday.
"I spoke with the president on the phone this morning," the official said. The schedule will continue as planned. The vice president will continue to persuade him of the advice of the White House medical team."
Prior to Biden's diagnosis, Harris was scheduled to spend the day in North Carolina, visiting a community computer lab and hosting an abortion roundtable with state lawmakers, before returning to Washington that evening. She kept her plans.
During a speech in Charlotte on Thursday afternoon, Harris said she spoke with Biden by phone that morning.
"He's in a good mood," he said. "Good".
Her spokesman, Michael Larosa, said First Lady Jill Biden tested negative for Covid Thursday morning. But since he's in close contact, he'll be following CDC guidelines on hiding and staying away, and planning to continue with his scheduled visits Thursday to Michigan and Georgia.
"I'm on tour in Detroit today but spoke to Joe earlier and he feels fine with some mild symptoms," he said in a tweet that also confirmed his negative result.
La Rosa later said the first lady would stay at the family home in Wilmington, Dale. Until Tuesday, when the president is impeached in the White House.
"He will be doing more aggressive tests in the next few days because he is in close contact," Larosa said.
Jean-Pierre said Thursday it was unclear where Biden contracted the virus, but the White House medical unit had begun tracing contacts to identify and notify anyone who could be considered close contact with the president, as officials have identified. CDC.
The president returned Wednesday from a trip to Massachusetts, where he was in contact with a large number of people. Members of the Massachusetts delegation, including Democratic Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, and Representative Jake Oceanklaus, traveled with the president. Markey and Auchincloss both tested negative Thursday and will continue to be tested, while Warren will hide out in public and be tested within five days based on CDC guidelines, according to lawmakers' spokesmen.
Biden joins a growing list of government officials who have tested positive for COVID in recent months, including his top medical advisers Anthony Fauci and Harris, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in an MSNBC interview that the Biden administration will need to show that the president can carry out his duties in the coming days. This is exactly what the contact team at Maison Blanche confirmed that Biden has tested positive for this, in publishing mises à jour sur ce qu'il ressentait et des photos le montrant en train de travailler à la résidence de White House.
"They've been preparing for this for probably several months now given the percentage of people in the country who have tested positive," Psaki said. "What they need to do in the next couple of days is show their work and show that they are still active and working as president, and I'm sure they probably will."
A video of the president was posted on his Twitter account on Thursday afternoon. Biden was speaking from a balcony overlooking the White House lawn.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Biden said, referring to his vaccination status and mild symptoms, "In the meantime, thank you for your concern and keeping your faith. He'll be fine."
News of his injury comes as the White House tries to manage crises on multiple fronts. It also comes as the administration has tried to anticipate a new phase in the fight against the pandemic, one in which the country is largely learning how to live with and deal with the virus.
Nearly 126,000 new infections are reported each day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an increase of nearly 26% from last month and the highest rate since mid-February. It is widely understood that these numbers have been underestimated due to the prevalence and ease of home testing for those getting tested.
The number of cases is still below the peak of the Delta Rush last summer and well below the winter wave in Omicron, when as many as a million Americans contracted Covid each day.
The White House has continued to pressure Americans to get vaccinated or get booster shots. Only one-third of eligible Americans received the first payment. And the West Wing Playbook reported in January that there were early concerns within the West Wing that if the president were infected, it would stir skeptics and critics about the state's Covid vaccine.
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The White House has also consistently battled outside concerns and comments about Biden's age and health. The 79-year-old president received a booster dose of the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech in September and a booster follow-up in late March. Although he's recently had health issues, his doctor declared him "fit to work" after undergoing surgery last fall.
CDC data show that third doses are at least 90% effective in preventing Americans with the OMICRON variant from being discharged from hospital. Additional injections are more important for adults 50 years of age or older.
Although the risk of the president becoming seriously ill has been greatly reduced due to the vaccination status, the protection is not strict. Older adults are at an increased risk of severe COVID-19 infection.
The president's access to the highest medical care also reduces the risk of a serious Covid crisis. Harris was also given the oral antiviral baxilvid after she tested positive for the virus.
The White House will not provide answers on what doctors will look for to determine whether the president should be taken to hospital, as Jha and Jean-Pierre have said repeatedly that they want to avoid the "what if."
"Walter Reed is still looking for presidents," Jha said. "It's always an option."
Following the president's diagnosis, politicians from both sides expressed their condolences on social media, wishing him a speedy recovery. Among them was Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who has criticized the Covid vaccine.
"Heidi and I are raising President Joe Biden in prayer now," Cruz wrote on Twitter.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, another outspoken opponent of Biden's COVID policy, said he was "sorry to hear that President Biden has tested positive for COVID-19. I wish him a speedy recovery."
Many Democratic leaders have urged those who haven't been vaccinated or boosted to do so, using the opportunity to remind people that the pandemic continues.
A reminder to everyone: This pandemic is not over and COVID-19 continues to spread. "If you haven't had the vaccine and/or the booster vaccine, please do," Illinois senator Tammy Duckworth said in a Twitter post.
Biden's infection is the second time a US president has personally contracted the virus. President Donald Trump at the time tested positive for the coronavirus in the fall of 2020, before vaccines became available, after the White House staged an alleged "paranormal event." After more than 200 people attended, most of them without masks, the September 26 White House Rose Garden event where Trump announced his Supreme Court nomination to Connie Barrett, nearly 12 people were subsequently tested.
The New York Times reported in February 2021 that Trump, who has repeatedly downplayed the virus and resisted wearing masks, was sicker with Covid than was publicly acknowledged at the time. A ventilator must be placed due to dangerously low oxygen levels and lung problems. He was given drugs that were not widely available at the time, such as Regeneron's antibody cocktail and the antiviral drug remdesivir, during his three-day hospital stay.
Trump reportedly tested positive for Covid three days before the first presidential debate with Biden in September 2020, according to a new book by his former chief of staff Mark Meadows. Meadows said Trump tested negative shortly after he tested positive and resumed his normal activities. Trump called the story "fake news."
Lisa Kaczynski contributed to this report.
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