White House: After returning positive to COVID-19 on Saturday, President Joe Biden said he was feeling fine. Biden who had tested negative to the virus since receving a first positive on July 21 is presenting a ‘rebound phenomenon’ common in small portion of patients who take the antiviral drug- Paxlovid, says White House doctor.
The 46th preisdent of USA tweeted about his positive case, saying it can happen to a “small minority of folks.” He later posted a video on Twitter where he said he was “feeling fine” and “everything’s good.”
The 79-year-old Biden “tested positive late Saturday morning, by antigen testing,” following four consecutive days of negative tests, and “will reinitiate strict isolation procedures,” presidential physician Kevin O’Connor wrote in a memorandum.
Biden’s positive test is believed to be a “rebound” experienced by some COVID patients who take the anti-viral drug Paxlovid, said White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor.
As per White House, Biden will now return to strict isolation and will cancel planned trips to his home in Wilmington and work trip in Michigan. It added that Biden held in-person indoor events and meetings with staff at the White House and was wearing a mask, in accordance with CDC guidelines on Wednesday and Thursday, but none on Friday. His Michigan trip to tout Thursday’s passage of legislation to boost the U.S. semiconductor chips industry is also called of now, White House officials added. Close contact are being monitored closely, sources said.
As er CDC guidance, they can end their re-isolation period after five full days if fever has resolved for 24 hours [without the use of fever-reducing medication] and symptoms are improving. The patient should wear a mask for a total of 10 days after rebound symptoms started.”
Paxlovid is an antiviral medication from Pfizer Inc that is used to treat high-risk patients, such as older patients.
Both the Food and Drug Administration and Pfizer point out that 1% to 2% of people in Pfizer’s original study on Paxlovid saw their virus levels rebound after 10 days. The rate was about the same among people taking the drug or dummy pills, “so it is unclear at this point that this is related to drug treatment,” according to the FDA.