Biden’s COVID symptoms have ‘improved’; had elevated temperature, now normal: Doctor
Written by ABC Audio All Rights Reserved on July 22, 2022
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden’s “symptoms have improved” one day after testing positive for COVID-19, the physician to the president, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said in a statement Friday.
Biden had a temperature of 99.4 degrees Thursday evening, his doctor said. The president took acetaminophen and his temperature has been normal since then, O’Connor said.
President Biden continued working from the White House this morning, including speaking by phone with his national security team. pic.twitter.com/jdQkoDtupR
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 22, 2022
Biden, 79, still has a runny nose, fatigue and occasional cough, O’Connor said.
The president’s pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and oxygen levels remain normal, O’Connor said.
The White House has identified 17 people who were in close contact with the president, including members of his senior staff and members of Congress, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday.
No one has tested positive so far and all of them are masking around other people, she said.
First lady Jill Biden, who is in Wilmington, Delaware, tested negative for COVID-19 Friday morning and remains symptom-free, according to her press secretary, Michael La Rosa. Jill Biden plans to remain in Wilmington until at least Tuesday, her office said.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who was with the president on Wednesday and is considered a close contact, tested negative for COVID-19 Friday morning, according to her press secretary, Kirsten Allen. Harris is experiencing no symptoms and is maintaining her public schedule.
Biden tested positive Thursday morning as part of routine testing, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said Thursday.
The president felt “totally normal” during the day Wednesday, Jha said, and symptoms then started Wednesday evening, according to O’Connor.
The president, who is fully vaccinated and received two boosters, is taking the antiviral pill Paxlovid, Jean-Pierre said.
Paxlovid has “been shown in clinical trials to be 89% effective in reducing the risk of severe COVID-19 illness, meaning hospitalization or death,” ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said.
O’Connor said in a statement Friday that because Biden is vaccinated and double boosted he was not concerned for the president’s health.
“I anticipated that he will respond favorably, as most maximally protected patients do,” O’Connor said. “There has been nothing in the course of his illness thus far which gives me cause to alter that initial expectation.”
White House spokesman John Kirby said Friday that Biden having COVID-19 has “no impact” on “the national security decision-making process.”
As Biden met with his economic team virtually on Friday, he cleared his throat and told reporters, “I’m feeling much better than I sound.”
The president sat behind his desk, periodically coughing and at one point unwrapping a cough drop. Asked how he’s feeling, as reporters were ushered out the room, the president flashed a big smile and a thumbs up.
The president will work in isolation until he tests negative, Jean-Pierre said.
An update from me: pic.twitter.com/L2oCR0uUTu
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 21, 2022
Prior to the diagnosis, Biden was last tested for COVID-19 on Tuesday, when he tested negative, according to Jean-Pierre.
ABC News’ Mary Bruce, Cheyenne Haslett, Molly Nagle and Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.
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