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() — President Joe Biden’s “symptoms continue to improve significantly,” following his COVID-19 diagnosis on Thursday, the president’s doctor wrote in a Sunday letter.
Biden’s “predominant symptom now is a sore throat,” Dr. Kevin O’Connor writes, likely attributing to “lymphoid activation as his body clears the virus,” calling the development “encouraging.”
Other symptoms, including a runny nose, cough and body aches, “have subsided considerably,” O’Connor said, while pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain normal.
According to O’Connor, Biden will continue to be treated with Paxlovid, and symptoms will be “supportively managed” with oral hydration, Tylenol and the albuterol inhaler “as needed for the occasional cough.” Biden will continue to isolate himself in accordance with the recommendations of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House covid-19 response coordinator, also weighed in on Biden’s condition on Sunday, telling Fox that he received his latest update from the president’s medical team the night before and that Biden had a good day”.
“I got in touch with your team last night. That’s when I got my last update. You had a good day, did some work, got some rest, finally listened to the advice of some of us to get some rest. And until last night, you felt fine,” he said.
Jha said in an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation” that he suspects Biden’s case “is going to be a covid course that we’ve seen in a lot of Americans who have been fully vaccinated, double-boosted, treated with those tools in hand. “.
“You know, the president has done well and we hope it continues that way,” he told the network.
Jha also agreed Sunday to be transparent with the American people whether Biden endured long-term debilitating Covid-19 or post-Covid conditions, though he downplayed the likelihood the president would have them.
“Absolutely,” Jha told CBS when asked if the White House would continue to make disclosures if he has long-term symptoms.
“We think it’s really important for the American people to know how well the president is doing, which is why we’ve been so transparent, giving updates multiple times a day,” he said. “If he has persistent symptoms, obviously if any of them interfere with his ability to perform his duties, we will disclose it to the American people early and often.”
The CDC defines long-term COVID as health problems that last four or more weeks after a COVID-19 infection. The World Health Organization definition adds that the symptoms must not be explained by an alternative diagnosis.
‘s Jen Christensen and Devan Cole contributed to this report.
