Biden says 'doing well' after positive COVID test
STORY: "Hey folks, I guess you heard. This morning, I tested positive for COVID"
U.S. President Joe Biden tested positive on Thursday for COVID-19. In a short video shared on Twitter sharing the news, Biden said he was so far feeling fine.
"But I've been double-vaccinated, double-boosted. Symptoms are mild. And I really appreciate your inquiries and concerns."
The president's physician, Dr. Kevin O'Conner, said Biden's symptoms so far included a runny nose, fatigue, and an occasional dry cough.
O'Conner said Biden has begun taking the antiviral treatment Paxlovid.
"I asked him, 'Mr. President, how are you feeling?' He said, 'I'm feeling fine.'"
Dr. Ashish Jha, who leads the White House's COVID-19 response team, told reporters at a briefing he'd spoken with Biden and Dr. O'Conner.
He said the president's oxygen levels were normal, that he was working, and would isolate for five days and return to public events once he had a negative COVID test.
Dr. Jha said that it was not yet clear which variant had infected the president, but that results of the sequencing should be known within days.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the B.A.5 Omicron subvariant is currently driving a surge in cases.
CDC data show U.S. infections are up 25 percent in the last month.
Biden has received two booster shots of a COVID-19 vaccine, the most recent one in March.
But the B.A.5 subvariant has proven capable of evading the immune protection from either vaccination or prior infection.
Dr. Jha said that there was no reason to expect Biden's case might worsen.
"He is breathing well, his oxygen level is normal, he resting - I was going to say resting comfortably, he's not resting - he's working comfortably in his residence."
Biden set up strict COVID-19 safety protocols at the White House, urged Americans to take the virus seriously and campaigned for everyone to get fully vaccinated.
The White House has said Biden is tested regularly for the disease and anyone who meets with him or travels with him is tested beforehand. Biden had last tested negative on Tuesday.
He joins a roster of world leader infected by the illness.
Former President Donald Trump – before he was vaccinated - was hospitalized in October, 2020, and underwent aggressive treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after his low oxygen levels alarmed his doctors.
More than 1 million people have died from COVID in the United States.
