TE24 International Desk:
President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid-19 again on Saturday, just three days after being allowed to emerge from coronavirus isolation, the White House said, after being treated with a single antiviral drug.
White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor said in a letter that Biden “has not experienced a recurrence of symptoms and remains reasonably healthy.”
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Biden will be quarantined for at least five days. The agency said most rebound cases are mild and no serious illness has been reported during this period.
The announcement of Biden’s positive test — he tested negative Friday morning — came just two hours after the White House announced the president’s visit to Michigan next Tuesday, emphasizing the passage of legislation to boost high-tech manufacturing in the country.
Biden was also scheduled to visit his home in Wilmington, Delaware, on Sunday morning, where Mrs. Jill Biden was when the president tested positive. Both visits were canceled as Biden returned to quarantine.
Biden, 79, was treated with the antiviral drug paxlovide and tested negative for the virus on Tuesday and Wednesday. He was then allowed to leave quarantine wearing a mask indoors. His positive test puts him among the few people slated to experience rebound cases of the virus.
Both the Food and Drug Administration and Pfizer said Pfizer’s first paxlovid study looked at 1% to 2% of people who had elevated viral levels after 10 days. The FDA said the rate was about the same for those taking the drug and those taking the dummy pill, so “it is unclear at this time whether this is related to the drug treatment.”
Although Biden tested negative, he wore a mask when he returned for internal events and meetings with White House officials, per CDC guidelines. But the president removed his mask indoors Thursday while speaking and meeting with CEOs at the White House complex.
Asked why Biden was violating CDC protocol, spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre said, “They are maintaining social distancing. Still investigating the spread and pathogenesis of rebound cases, the CDC warned doctors in May that the first negative patient tests for the virus within two to eight days.” will happen
The limited information currently available from case reports suggests that paxlovide-treated individuals who experienced a return of COVID-19 had milder disease. No reports of serious illness.
When Biden was first released from isolation on Wednesday, O’Connor said the president would “increase the frequency of testing.”
Patients should be re-isolated for at least 5 days. According to CDC guidelines, if the fever is gone for 24 hours (without the use of antipyretics) and symptoms improve, the re-quarantine period can be ended after a full 5 days. Paxlovide has been shown to significantly reduce severe morbidity and mortality in those most at risk for COVID-19.
US health officials recommend that those who test positive should consult a doctor or pharmacist to see if they should be treated, despite the risk of rebound.
Biden was fully vaccinated and vaccinated twice with Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine shortly before taking office, with the first boost in September and the boost on March 30. Patients who have recovered from earlier forms of COVID-19 tend to retain a high degree of immunity against future reinfections, whereas a BA.5 subspecies of Jha was infected by Biden. He said it proved “more to avoid immunity”.
We’ve seen many people become reinfected within 90 days,” he said, adding that there is no data yet on how long it takes for people who have recovered from the BA.5 strain to avoid re-infection.
