Biden tests positive for COVID again — days after initial recovery
President Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again on Saturday, days after he recovered from his first bout with the virus.
Biden, 79, posted on Twitter that so-called “rebound” cases like his happen “with a small minority of folks” prescribed the antiviral medication Paxlovid to treat the bug.
“Folks, today I tested positive for COVID again. I’ve got no symptoms but I am going to isolate for the safety of everyone around me,” the tweet said. “I’m still at work, and will be back on the road soon.”
Biden first tested positive for COVID on July 21, and subsequently tested negative Tuesday night after being administered the Paxlovid.
White House Physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor said in a letter on Saturday that Biden was among “a small percentage” of Paxlovid recipients who saw their symptoms “rebound.”
Biden tested positive on an antigen test and will isolate in case he is contagious, O’Connor said.
“After testing negative on Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning, Thursday morning and Friday morning, the President tested positive late Saturday morning, by antigen testing,” the publically released doctor’s note said.
But the president is not experiencing symptoms, the letter said. As a result O’Connor said Biden had not been prescribed additional medication.
Presidential trips scheduled this week to Delaware and Michigan have been canceled, the White House said. Biden had hoped to promote funding for high-tech manufacturing in the Great Lake State; it is unclear if he will now attend the event virtually.
“The President has experienced no reemergence of symptoms, and continues to feel quite well,” O’Connor wrote. “This being the case, there is no reason to reinitiate treatment at this time, but we will obviously continue close observation.”
O’Conner added that Biden “continues to be very specifically conscientious to protect” his staff.
Biden last week urged Americans to resume wearing face masks indoors – even as he attended several events unmasked during his three-day period of viral remission.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not advise mask-wearing in regions where COVID cases are low, but does advise them for people who have tested positive for the virus within the previous 10 days.
Biden turns 80 in November, putting him at higher risk of severe illness from the contagion.
He will re-enter isolation for at least five days in accordance with CDC guidelines and isolated at the White House until he tests negative.
His initial COVID symptoms included fatigue, dry coughing and a runny nose.
Biden adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, 81, also experienced a rebound when he caught COVID in June and took Paxlovid. His symptoms the second time around were so bad that he opted to take the drug again.
Some 40,000 Paxlovid prescriptions are issued in the US each day, according to The Atlantic.
With Post wires