WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday, something the White House had taken extra steps to avoid as highly transmissible strains struck top aides, Cabinet members and the vice president.
Biden is experiencing “very mild” symptoms and is taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
While Biden’s vaccinations should protect him against serious illness, the infection is a blow to the administration’s efforts to show the president is on top of the pandemic that has disrupted the country for more than two years.
Biden will continue to work at the White House, where he will isolate until he tests negative, according to Jean-Pierre. Daily updates on Biden’s condition will be given during his isolation, she said.
Biden had last been tested for COVID-19 on Tuesday when his result was negative, according to Jean-Pierre.
The White House had acknowledged that Biden could catch the virus as the president balanced potential risks with a return to regular activities.
“I wouldn’t say it’s just a matter of time,” White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha said on April 26 after Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive. “But, of course, it is possible that the president, like any other American, could get COVID.”
Biden’s doctors previously assessed he could continue to carry out his duties if he contracted the virus, then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in April.
“He has access to the best health care in the world,” Psaki said at the time.
Psaki herself tested positive in late March, months after a previous bout of COVID in October.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff also tested positive in March.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who is third in line for the presidency, tested positive in April, as did three cabinet secretaries, several members of Congress, and Biden’s sister.
Joe Biden, 79, has been vaccinated, and he received his first booster shot in September and a second at the end of March.
In addition, the White House had gone beyond CDC’s recommended protocols to protect Biden from the virus. Anyone who meets with the president or is traveling with him is tested first. When possible, Biden is also kept socially distanced from others, Psaki previously said. And the president is regularly tested.
Still, Biden makes risk assessments, “just like many Americans,” when he feels it’s import for him to travel or attend an event in person, Psaki previously said.
“And certainly, that’s one of the reasons we want to be very clear that it is possible he could test positive for COVID,” she said on April 26.
Beyond the vaccines he’s received, Biden could further improve his protection from severe illness by taking tPaxlovid, which Harris was prescribed.
Biden is a relatively high risk for a severe case simply because of his age. On the positive side, he has no other major risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, asthma or chronic lung disease.
Biden has urged Americans to get vaccinated and to get their booster shots, stressing that those who are protected can feel safer.
“There will be positive cases in every office, even here in the White House,” Biden said in December, when omicron was surging in Washington as he announced new measures to combat the pandemic.
Other world leaders who have gotten COVID-19 this year include Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, Prime Minister Micheál Martin of Ireland, President Andrzej Duda of Poland and President Arif Alvi of Pakistan.
