Biden ‘much, much better’ three days after Covid diagnosis, White House response director says

‘If he has persistent symptoms ... if any of them interfere with his ability to carry out his duties ... we will disclose that early and often with the American people’

US President Joe Biden is “doing just fine” with a “mild respiratory illness” following his Covid-19 diagnosis, according to the White House Covid-19 response coordinator, who told news networks on Sunday that the president is “feeling well” three days after testing positive with mild symptoms.

Dr Ashish Jha told ABC’s This Week on 24 July that the president “had a great day yesterday” and was “feeling well” as of late Saturday night. Mr Biden tested positive on 21 July.

“This is a president who is double vaccinated, double boosted, getting treatments that are widely available to Americans, and who at this moment has a mild respiratory illness – this is really good news,” he said.

He told CBS Face that Nation that he checked in with his team late on Saturday and said that the president “had a good day yesterday.”

“He’s got a viral syndrome, an upper respiratory infection ... and he’s doing just fine,” he added. “So we haven’t gotten any updates this morning, but through last night, he was feeling much, much better.”

Mr Biden completed a third full day of the antiviral treatment Paxlovid and will contine the treatment regimen “as planned,” Physician to the President Dr Kevin O’Connor reported in his latest daily assessment of the president’s condition on 24 July.

On Saturday, the 79-year-old president – who has received both doses of a two-dose vaccine, as well as two additional “booster” shots – was experiencing sore throat, a runny nose, loose cough and body aches, while his pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature are normal, according to Dr O’Connor.

By Sunday, the president’s symptoms “continue to improve significantly,” Dr O’Connor reported.

His predominany symptom is a sore throat, while a runny nose, cough and body aches “have diminished considerably,” he said. He will continue his Paxlovid regimen.

The president was likely infected with the BA5 subvariant of Omicron, the current dominant variant in the US, according to Dr O’Connor.

The BA5 subvariant of the highly contagious disease accounts for nearly 80 per cent of recent infections in the US, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We think it’s really important for the American people to know how well the president’s doing, which is why we have been so transparent, giving updates several times a day, having people hear from me directly, hear directly from his physician,” Dr Jha told CBS.

“And 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,” he added. “But I suspect this is going to be a course of Covid that we’ve seen in many Americans who have been fully vaccinated, double boosted, getting treated with those tools in hand.”

Dr Jha encouraged Americans to continue wearing masks indoors as transmission rates continue to climb, with average daily confirmed infections of the highly contagious disease hovering around 130,00 over the last few weeks.

“So in areas of high transmission, I think it’s very prudent for people to be wearing masks indoors, especially if they’re in crowded, poorly ventilated spaces,” he told CBS. “That’s what the CDC recommends. And I think that’s a very important and effective way of reducing transmission, protecting yourself as well.”

Roughly 67 per cent of Americans have received both doses of two-dose vaccines, while fewer than 50 per cent of those who are vaccinated have received a “booster” dose, according to the CDC.