According to a statement from the White House, President Biden has just tested positive for COVID-19.
He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, “experiencing very mild symptoms. He has begun taking Paxlovid.”
Biden “will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “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.”
The most recent COVID test Biden took was on Tuesday, and the results were negative, according to the statement.
Although COVID-19 poses a decreased risk for serious illness or hospitalisation thanks to vaccines, booster shots, and antivirals, the virus still poses a higher danger to elderly individuals. Biden is the oldest president in American history at 79 years old. He received a fourth dose of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine one day after it was approved for use in adults over 50 in March. He is fully vaccinated and has had two booster doses.
“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” to Somerset, Mass., the statement said.
Biden had generally avoided the cameras since returning from a five-day trip to the Middle East, with the exception of the Massachusetts engagement.
Biden would have the choice to temporarily delegate presidential authority to Vice President Harris under the 25th Amendment if his health were to significantly worsen. When Biden underwent anaesthesia for a routine colonoscopy as part of a physical in November, Harris filled in as president for a little over an hour. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush also used the 25th Amendment to grant colonoscopies with limited time periods.
Biden’s diagnosis occurs as the United States experiences yet another COVID wave, this one brought on by the BA.5 mutation.