President Joe Biden is suffering from mild symptoms of COVID-19, according to a statement released Thursday by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“This morning, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms,” the statement, posted on the White House website, said.
The statement said Biden, 79, is being given the drug Paxlovid.
It was one year ago today that Biden said this quote: “You’re not going to get covid if you have these vaccinations.”
Today, Biden tested positive for covid. pic.twitter.com/Q1BcBQaEXH
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 21, 2022
“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,” the statement said.
“He has been in contact with members of the White House staff by phone this morning, and will participate in his planned meetings at the White House this morning via phone and Zoom from the residence.
“Consistent with White House protocol for positive COVID cases, which goes above and beyond CDC guidance, he will continue to work in isolation until he tests negative. Once he tests negative, he will return to in-person work,” the statement continued.
Daily updates on Biden’s condition will be released, according to the statement.
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The statement said Biden would “carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation.”
“Per standard protocol for any positive case at the White House, the White House Medical Unit will inform all close contacts of the president during the day today, including any Members of Congress and any members of the press who interacted with the president during yesterday’s travel,” the statement said.
On Wednesday, Biden traveled to Somerset, Massachusetts, to give a speech about climate change.
Biden had last been tested for COVID-19 on Tuesday, the statement said. That test was negative.
Biden went to the Middle East last week, meeting with leaders of Israel and Saudi Arabia. Although the White House said that as a measure of caution Biden would keep his distance from other leaders, he shook hands and embraced leaders in meetings where no masks were worn, noted NBC.
Biden is the second president to have contracted COVID-19. Former President Donald Trump was briefly hospitalized with the disease in 2020.
Paxlovid is used to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 in individuals rated at high risk of severe illness, according to CNN.
Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House domestic policy adviser Susan Rice tested positive for COVID-19 this year.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Attorney General Merrick Garland, former White House press secretary Jen Psaki and multiple other Biden administration officials also tested positive in recent months.
