Biden feeling better after BA.5 COVID diagnosis, has sore throat

WASHINGTON —  President Joe Biden continues to “improve significantly” regardless of a lingering sore throat from his coronavirus infection, based on an update Sunday from his physician.

“The president is responding to therapy as expected,” wrote Dr. Kevin O’Connor in his newest notice. Biden has been taking Paxlovid, an antiviral drug that helps scale back the prospect of extreme sickness.

O’Connor wrote that Biden nonetheless has a sore throat, although different signs, together with a cough, runny nostril and physique aches, “have diminished significantly.”

Biden examined constructive for the coronavirus on Thursday morning. O’Connor stated Saturday that the president seemingly turned contaminated with a highly contagious variant, known as BA.5, that’s spreading all through the nation, and Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, stated Sunday, “It is the BA.5 variant.”

“Thank goodness our vaccines and therapeutics work well against it, which is why I think the president’s doing well,” Jha informed CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Jha additionally gave a constructive replace on the president’s well being.

“I checked in with his team late last night. He was feeling well. He had a good day yesterday,” Jha stated.

That variant is an offshoot of the omicron strain that emerged late final 12 months. It is believed answerable for the overwhelming majority of coronavirus circumstances within the nation. He has been isolating within the White House residence since then.

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Administration officers have emphasised that his signs are delicate as a result of he has obtained 4 vaccine doses, and he began taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid after turning into contaminated.

The White House has not launched any images or video of Biden since Friday, when the media watched him take part in a digital assembly with financial advisers.

Jha pledged that the White House would preserve giving updates on the president’s situation and whether or not he might need long-term signs.

“We think it’s really important for the American people to know how well their president is doing,” he stated.

“Obviously if he has persistent symptoms, obviously if any of them interfere with his ability to carry out his duties, we will disclose that early and often with the American people. But I suspect that this is going to be a course of COVID that we’ve seen in many Americans who have ben fully vaccinated, double boosted, getting treated with those tools in hand,” Jha stated. “The president’s been doing properly and we’re going to anticipate that he will proceed to take action.’’

Biden’s press secretary has stated 17 folks, together with members of the president’s senior employees and at the very least one member of Congress, had been decided to have been in shut contact with Biden when he might need been contagious. None has examined constructive thus far, Jha stated on “Fox News Sunday.”