President Joe Biden Tests Positive for COVID-19: 'Very Mild Symptoms'
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President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, the White House announced Thursday morning.
This is his first time testing positive for the virus.
Biden, 79, is fully vaccinated and has received two booster shots for the virus. He is "experiencing very mild symptoms," the White House said.
Those symptoms include runny nose, fatigue and an occasional dry cough that began Wednesday evening, according to Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the president's physician. "I anticipate that he will respond favorably, as most maximally protected patients do."
"I talked to him just a few minutes ago," first lady Jill Biden said shortly after the diagnosis, while traveling to Detroit to visit a summer learning program. "He's doing fine. He's doing good."
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The first lady added that she has just tested negative and will continue with her schedule as planned, wearing a mask per CDC guidelines.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Joe Biden
President Biden has begun taking Paxlovid, an FDA-authorized antiviral medication used to help treat cases of the coronavirus.
"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," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
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"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," she continued.
In an effort to be transparent, the White House will provide daily updates about Biden's condition, though staff anticipate him being able to continue his work in isolation until he receives a negative test.
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Former President Donald Trump also tested positive for the virus while in office, and ultimately stayed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to be treated for a COVID infection.
Breakthrough cases of COVID-19 — infections that occur in people who have been fully vaccinated against the virus — are possible and expected, as the vaccines are not 100 percent effective. Still, vaccinated people who test positive will likely be asymptomatic or experience a far milder illness than if they were not vaccinated. The majority of deaths from COVID-19 — around 98 to 99 percent — are in unvaccinated people.
As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from the CDC, WHO and local public health departments.
