Biden likely infected with BA5 Covid variant, physician says

US president’s condition continues to improve following antiviral treatment, White House reports

Joe Biden was likely infected with the BA5 subvariant of Omicron, the current dominant Covid-19 variant in the US, according to his physician, who reported that the US president’s symptoms “continue to improve” after he tested positive on 21 July.

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.

Mr Biden has completed a second full day of the antiviral treatment Paxlovid and will contine the treatment regimen “as planned,” Physician to the President Dr Kevin O’Connor reported on 23 July.

The president – who has received both doses of a two-dose vaccine, as well as two additional “booster” shots – is 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.

His oxygen saturation “continues to be excellent” and his lungs are clear, Dr O’Connor said.

The 79-year-old president is also taking Tylenol, using an albuterol inhaler two to three times a day, and is taking a low-dose aspirin as an alternative type of blood thinner, according to Dr O’Connor.

Mr Biden is working virtually with minimal interactions with staff, according to the White House. He appeared virtually during a broadcasted meeting with his economic team on 22 July.

“He is still putting eight-plus hours of work a day,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing on Friday. “He wants to remind Americans to get vaccinated because in his own words, it matters.”

White House Covid Response Coordinator Dr Ashish Jha also told reporters on Friday that he spoke with the president that morning and found the president in a “very good mood” with “normal” vital signs.

“What I think every American needs to hear, what the president laid out, is that while we have a very contagious variant out there, thanks to this president’s leadership we have the ability to manage this,” Dr Jha said. “We are at a point where we can prevent nearly every Covid death in America. That is a remarkable fact.”

White House chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci told CBS Saturday Morning that “given the fact that he’s been vaccinated, doubly boosted and is receiving Paxlovid, a drug that clearly goes a long way to preventing progression of disease, we fully expect that he’s going to be doing very well.”

The US is averaging more than 126,000 new daily confirmed infections, according to the CDC. It is likely a significant undercount of the number of infections.

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, the CDC reports.