The White House doctor provided a positive update regarding President Joe Biden’s bout with COVID-19, reassuring Americans that the president is recovering well.
Physician to the President Kevin O’Connor reported in the Monday memo that Biden’s “symptoms have now almost completely resolved.”
“When questioned,” O’Connor wrote, “at this point [Biden] only notes some residual nasal congestion and minimal hoarseness. His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain absolutely normal. His lungs remain clear.”
This comes four days after Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced that the president had “tested positive for COVID-19” on Thursday, July 21.
Since that time, Biden has been isolated in the White House while being treated by various measures, including the drug paxlovid.
Developed by major pharmaceutical company Pfizer, paxlovid can allegedly reduce the risk of complications or death in some individuals with COVID by 89%. The National Institutes of Health further claimed that the drug is “the only highly effective oral antiviral for the treatment of COVID-19.”
However, the CDC warned that paxlovid could lead to a “COVID rebound” where patients continue to struggle with the symptoms of COVID despite testing negative.
Despite being confined to the White House, President Biden has continued to participate in virtual meetings with various groups.
During a meeting on Monday, July 25, Biden expressed, “I think I’m on my way to full, total recovery, God willing.”
At 79 years old, Biden is in a higher risk category as “more than 81% of COVID-19 deaths occur in people over age 65,” according to the CDC.
The White House declined to comment or release information on how President Biden contracted the illness.
When asked where the president had been infected, Press Secretary Jean-Pierre told reporters, “Look, I don’t think that matters.”
Dr. Ashish Jha, a COVID response coordinator working with the administration, noted that Biden had close encounters with 17 people before being diagnosed but that so far, “none of those 17 people had tested positive.”
The president will continue to remain in isolation until testing negative for COVID.