Biden returns to the Oval Office after COVID-19

President Joe Biden came out of his five-day isolation Wednesday after testing negative for COVID-19 that day and Tuesday. He had tested positive for the virus last week, so he isolated in the White House while working and attending meetings virtually. Before testing positive, he was vaccinated and boosted twice. He plans to wear a face mask when he’s around other people for at least five days. Last week, Biden’s physician, Kevin O’Connor, said he likely had omicron variant BA.5. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that BA.5 currently makes up 78 percent of cases. But, while it’s highly infectious, omicron variants tend to be less severe. 

Will he have lasting effects? Dr. O’Connor said Biden’s symptoms were almost “completely resolved.” The 79-year-old president completed a five-day course of Paxlovid, an antiviral drug, and was fever-free for 36 hours without taking Tylenol. O’Conner said a small percentage of patients who used Paxlovid have a rebound in their infections, so medical staff will now test Biden more frequently. But at a speech in the Rose Garden, Biden said he was “feeling great.” 

Dig deeper: Read Juliana Chan Erikson’s report in Beginnings on whether the companies making the COVID-19 vaccines used cell lines from aborted fetal tissue.