President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid again late Saturday in a “rebound” case after testing negative for several days in a row, his doctor said in a statement. letter.
“After testing negative on Tuesday night, Wednesday morning, Thursday morning, and Friday morning, the President tested positive late Saturday night through antigen testing. This effectively represents ‘rebound’ positivity,” wrote White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor.
Biden, 79, has not experienced any new symptoms and continues to feel well, O’Connor said. “If this is the case, there is no reason to restart treatment at this time, but we will obviously continue to monitor closely.”
However, he will return to strict isolation procedures, the doctor added.
A White House official said they are in the process of tracing contacts to identify close contacts.
Vice President Kamala Harris is not considered a close contact and tested negative for Covid-19 on Friday, her press secretary, Kirsten Allen, said.
Biden, who has been fully vaccinated and boosted twice, tested positive for Covid on July 21 during a routine test and was treated with the antiviral drug Paxlovid.
A small minority of people taking Paxlovid see a rebound effect. About 1% to 2% of people taking Paxlovid? Pfizer Clinical Trial tested positive for the coronavirus after testing negative. Rebound rates are about 5% among the tens of thousands of people who have used the drug in real life, said White House Covid response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha, at a recent press conference.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of the potential recurrences in May, saying people who test positive again may still be contagious and must resume isolation for at least five days.
“People, today I tested positive for COVID again. This is happening to a small minority of people,” the president tweeted on Saturday. “I have no symptoms, but I will be isolating for the safety of everyone around me. I am still at work and will be back on the road soon.”
He left isolation on Wednesday after five days. At the time, O’Connor said his symptoms had almost completely disappeared.
Biden held remarks in the State Dining Room on Thursday and participated in a roundtable discussion with officials and some CEOs. He did not wear a face mask at either event.
A White House official said on Saturday that Biden would wear a mask around others through Day 10, in accordance with CDC guidelines.
“When he was on a podium or similar circumstance, we made sure there was enough distance between him and others to allow him to safely take off his mask,” the official said. “He was a safe distance from others at those events.”
dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to Biden, who had Covid in June, also said he was going through Paxlovid rebound.
Molly Roecker and Monica Alba contributed.