This has been a terrible 24 hours for people who are legitimately concerned about President Biden’s health! Yesterday, the White House had to walk back statements Pres. Biden made which sounded like he said he has cancer (he does not, as far as the White House is concerned). And now this, President Biden has tested positive for Covid. This is his first time testing positive.
President Joe Biden has tested positive for Covid-19 and is experiencing “mild symptoms,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday.
“This morning, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms. He has begun taking Paxlovid. 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,” she said.
Biden, 79, did not have a fever Thursday morning, the White House’s coronavirus coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told CNN. Biden has a runny nose, dry cough and is experiencing some fatigue, Jha said.
This is the first time Biden has tested positive for Covid-19. He last tested negative on Tuesday, per Jean-Pierre. Paxlovid is Pfizer’s antiviral drug and is available via emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 in people 12 and older who are at high risk of severe illness. It requires a doctor’s prescription.
Biden received his first two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine ahead of his inauguration in January 2021, his first booster shot in September and his second booster vaccination on March 30.
The one thing I’ll say is that I hope this drives home the need for all of us to be vaccinated and boosted and still Covid-aware. Too many people are just back to wandering around maskless and breathing on everyone constantly. There’s currently a big Covid surge ripping through the country, just as all of the health experts warned months ago. As for President Biden, maybe the White House can blame that weird cancer gaffe on Covid. I hope he rests up and hopefully he’ll be fine in a few days.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instar.
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- United States President Joe Biden delivers a nationally televised address to the nation on the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, March 11, 2021. In his remarks, the President speaks about the sacrifices the American People have made, the process of getting everybody vaccinated, and articulates a hopeful vision based on American strength. Credit: Chris Kleponis / Pool via CNP / MediaPunch Pictured: Joe Biden BACKGRID USA 11 MARCH 2021 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Washington, DC – Resident Joe Biden greets lawmakers as he arrives to deliver the State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol’s House Chamber in Washington, DC. During his first State of the Union address, Biden spoke on his administration’s efforts to lead a global response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, work to curb inflation, and bring the country out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pictured: 117th Congress BACKGRID USA 1 MARCH 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Washington, D.C. – United States President Joe Biden departs after speaking during an event honoring the Presidential Rank Award winners from 37 federal agencies in a virtual ceremony in the South Court Auditorium in Washington, DC. Pictured: Joe Biden BACKGRID USA 2 MAY 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Washington, D.C. – US President Joe Biden speaks to the nation about the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas in the Roosevelt Room in Washington, D.C. Pictured: Joe Biden BACKGRID USA 24 MAY 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Hope the President gets through it with only mild symptoms.
Geez, I hope he’s ok. My family and I just got Covid for the first time at the beginning of the month and it was rough for all of us, including the young kids, even though we are all vaccinated and my husband and I have been boosted. I still have a lingering cough as well which is annoying af and weird since I didn’t have a cough until the tail end of it.
Erin, same with my family! We all got super sick and I am currently coughing up a lung despite being negative finally. The worst. Very grateful we are all vaxxed and boosted. It sucked but could have been much worse. Hope you feel better soon. And same for Handsome Joe!
Aww thanks @jem, you too. Really hope you and I both get over these coughs. My body just starts coughing in the middle of the night now while I’m asleep and wakes me up!
That’s interesting, I thought cough wasn’t really a symptom of covid anymore, but they said Biden has a dry cough too.
@kebbie-That’s what I thought too and I’m the only one out of the whole family that has it and I didn’t get it until like 5-6 days after my first symptoms. At first it was so gross, loose and phlegmy, now it’s dry and my chest hurts. I’m also still blowing my nose a lot too.
@Erin That’s what I hate about covid, you never know what to expect the next day. It doesn’t develop and resolve like a typical cold, you could wake up day 9 with some new random symptom. Hang in there, hopefully the worst has passed!
I’m sure he will receive the best treatment available, but I hope his people also force him to rest and recuperate and he isn’t trying to do work stuff anyway, like online stuff he can do in isolation. The sooner he recovers, the better.
Hope he will be ok
I am just recovering from COVID; this is day 11 post symptom onset. I had a headache the first 2 days, very uncomfortable body aches days 2-4, mild cough, embarrassing amounts of nasal congestion & phlegm, and over all feeling run down. Just this morning I woke up & feel SO much better. 2x vaxxed, 2x boosted I feel like my immune system in the future will be “not today, Satan!” to other strains. *crosses fingers
I’m the same… 2x by 2x….I got it in December about 10 days after I got my boost…just had loss of taste…but I KNOW with my compromised immune system…if I HADN’T been suited up…I can’t imagine…😬
Everyone I know is waiting for the updated vaccines to come out in the Fall…I worked in Healthcare and know that NOW is the time to get vaccinated to head off Fall/Winter viral surges and I didn’t want to wait several months for a launch of new Covid vaccinations that is going to be MIRED in hell due to the GOP/Anti-vaxxers/apathy…so I got another boost Monday to ride me through…because…
Winter is coming 😝
I am STILL a pandemic warrior when it comes to proper protocols…however these NEW variants are SO AGRESSIVELY off the chain…and NO ONE is wearing masks anymore…being actively vaccinated is a MUST!
Yes, me too! All of this! I’m a teacher and 90% of my students are NOT wearing masks. My students are ADULTS! I seriously “suit up” before class and “decontaminate” afterward. So far, so good. Many of my coworkers aren’t masking and I know they think I am crazy, as I do them!
I agree. I had it over Christmas so I wasn’t in a huge rush to get my second booster, but I decided to get it last week. They said it won’t preclude you from getting a tweaked version in the fall, and the comments I’m reading from people who have had the new strain concern me. It sounds like it’s worse than the original omicron.
@Grace Keep masking. I’ve had it the last two Christmases (lucky me!) But I’m convinced the reason it was so mild for me is because I had a lower viral load thanks to the mask. I had a weakened sense of smell both times and the second time I had a fever for about four hours. Those were my only symptoms.
I’m waiting for the fall booster for my second because I’m under 50 and don’t have any other risk factors and thus am ineligible for the booster.
@Betsy I have a friend who is under 50 and works with the public and just went ahead and signed up for a booster anyway. She said all the pharmacist cared was that it had been 5 months since her booster. I’m now at 9 months since my booster! Now I guess I have the natural immunity to tide me over until I’m eligible since I caught COVID this month, but I wish I would have just gone in.
I’m in the same boat. I’m on day 15 now and still have lingering congestion, cough and fatigue.
I had covid in early July. I was so sad that after all this time I got it. At least nobody else in my family got it. I guess this means I won’t need a booster until December.
Is that the time line for a booster after getting Covid? I said above that we all just got it too around the fourth and I was wanting to get the kids boosted before school starts before we got it.
I don’t know the official recommendations in the US. But here it is 6 months. Roughly. A second booster is not recommended for young and healthy people but in general, you cannot get the vaccine (first, second, or booster dose) in the 3 months afer an infection. I got it pretty much exactly 6 months after my first booster. A colleague had it for the second time 6 months after his first infection. That’s anecdotal but the 6-month-mark seems like a good rough estimate.
I think there is an actual post Covid waiting period. I don’t know the exact amount of time. I, personally, am going to wait 5 or 6 months.
I got covid twice in 6 weeks (May and June) so this whole “I don’t need a booster because I have some immunity” is a total myth. There are so many variants out there and BA.5 does NOT care about any prior exposure you’ve had. You do not have immunity for 6 months. And the official recommendation is to get your booster as soon as you no longer have covid, there is no “waiting period” after you get covid. There was initially when the first vaccines came out but they are no longer advising that due to all the variants.
Nothing that we know of gives you immunity. But of course a prior infection helps you immune system fight this, even BA.5 which seems to be more aggressive than previous variants. I’m not saying you’re good to go for 6 months but you’re much better protected in the months following a vaccination or an infection. Exceptions happen of course. But in general that’s not a debate or we wouldn’t need vaccines at all.
I said “here” you have wait 3 months, I’m not in the US, I literally started my post with that. I’m in Germany.
I had very mild case in Feb. Was just tired etc. But since, I lose taste for several things. Mostly meat, I think that is good actually but so weird. Anyone else?
I lost my sense of taste and smell even though it’s been said that that is no longer really a symptom with this variant but I think it was because I was so congested. It’s happened to me numerous times with bad colds. Anyway, yeah there are still things that don’t taste right/the same, like coffee, even though I seem to have my senses back. Idk, it’s only been a couple of weeks for me since I got it so we’ll see I guess.
I’ve had covid twice (despite being vaxxed and boosted) and my sense of smell weakened both times but it came back fully after about 6 months both times. I couldn’t smell things like Brussel sprouts, the litter box, or bleach. Or I wouldn’t smell a candle burning until I looked at it. It was bizarre, but it did come back.
I didn’t lose it completely, but everything had less taste and I had a burnt taste in my mouth for a couple days. I also went off meat completely appetite wise, but I could still kind of taste it.
Would they tell anyone if it wasn’t mild? I had it 3 weeks ago and it was rough. I keep hearing from people who are only now getting it (I don’t think many people will avoid it completely) and most of us had a really high fever and some cold-like symptoms. Except for the stuff nose it felt exactly like the flu I had years ago. Came out of nowhere and threw me on my butt. Maybe this newer variant of Omikron is harsher.
I get why people are concerned about Biden though. He has reached a point where he is very obviously elderly. The way he moves and speaks. It’s … disconcerting in an American president. I hope it’s just physical.
That’s a good point. I don’t think they would. Everyone I know who has caught it within the last month or two say the symptoms are just as bad as getting it 2 years ago.
Oh man!! Praying he’ll be okay. He has the best team and care around so I’m sure he will be. I’m frequently flying and I’ve noticed an uptick in people wearing masks though it might just be the places I’m going.
In other news I googled Joe and I hate how I’m inundated with right wing talking points. The same for Kamala. I hate this clickbait era so much…it’s always stuff that’s mocking them instead of real news about what they are doing.
That paxlovid stuff is supposed to be highly effective when it’s started early too, so I think he should be okay.
Day 16 here. Cough is nuts.
I’m impressed he managed to avoid it for so long, given that politicians aren’t really masking anymore and shaking hands. Biden hasn’t worn a mask in months. I hope he recovers and feels better soon!
I’ve said it before but I got covid twice in 6 weeks just recently. First time around it was so mild and nearly asymptomatic, the only reason I knew I had it was after getting a positive PCR after being around my father who was symptomatic. The second time around, I was symptomatic and a much different experience. I had 2 bad days of feeling very fatigued and congested, it felt like a bad sinus infection and I needed to take Tylenol decongestant in order to feel human. Within a week I was fine. So not mild but also not the sickest I’ve ever been.
Here’s hoping for a swift and painless end to his condition.
Saying a prayer for the President’s health…