Joe Biden has contracted Covid-19 and has started taking Pfizer’s antiviral pill to combat the disease, the White House announced.
The 79-year-old US president tested positive on Thursday morning, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and will work from isolation until he tests negative. The White House said he is fully vaccinated with two additional booster shots and was experiencing “very mild symptoms”.
Jean-Pierre said in a statement: “Out of an abundance of transparency, the White House will provide a daily update on the president’s status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation.”
Kevin O’Connor, the president’s doctor, said in a letter that Biden was experiencing a runny nose, dry cough and fatigue.
He added: “The president has been fully vaccinated and twice-boosted, so I anticipate he will respond favourably, as most maximally protected patients do. Early use of [Pfizer’s drug] Paxlovid in this case provides additional protection against severe disease.”
The president was due to travel to Pennsylvania to make announcements on criminal justice and policing on Thursday but cancelled that trip as well as a planned weekend at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.
