US President Joe Biden is doing “much, much better”, the White House’s COVID-19 response coordinator has said, confirming that the 79-year-old leader was infected with a highly contagious variant which spread throughout the country.
Key points:
- Biden is isolating at the White House residence after testing positive for the virus on Thursday
- Officials say his symptoms are mild because he has received four doses of the vaccine and is taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid.
- His doctor says it’s “highly likely” the president is infected with the highly contagious BA.5 variant
“It’s the BA.5 variant … but thank God our vaccines and therapeutics are working well, so I think the president is doing well,” Dr. Ashish Jha said on Face the Nation on CBS on Sunday.
“I went into his team last night. He was fine. He had a good day yesterday.
“He has… an upper respiratory infection and is fine.
“We didn’t get an update this morning, but throughout the night he felt much, much better,” Dr Jha said.
This variant is an offshoot of the Omicron strain that emerged late last year.
It is believed to be responsible for the vast majority of coronavirus cases in the United States.
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Mr Biden tested positive for the virus on Thursday morning. Since then he has isolated himself in the White House residence.
Administration officials have stressed that his symptoms are mild because he has received four doses of the vaccine and started taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid after becoming infected.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, wrote in his latest update on Biden’s condition that his previous symptoms, including a runny nose and cough, have become “less bothersome,” but that the president now he had body pains and a sore. throat
He said that Mr. Biden “very likely” had the BA.5 variant and that preliminary sequencing results indicated that the strain did not affect Mr. Biden’s treatment plan “in any way.”
DrJha promised that the White House would continue to update on the president’s condition and whether he might have long-term symptoms.
“We think it’s very important that the American people know how well their president is doing,” he said.
“Obviously if he has persistent symptoms, obviously if any of them interfere with his ability to perform his duties, we will disclose that early and often with the American people.
“But I suspect this will be a course of COVID that we’ve seen in many Americans who have been fully vaccinated, double-boosted, treated with these tools in hand,” Dr. Jha said.
“The president has done well and we hope he continues to do so.”
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AP