Biden Sick With Highly Contagious COVID-19 Strain, ‘Continues to Improve’

President Joe Biden works at the White House in Washington on July 21, 2022. (White House via The Epoch Times)

President Joe Biden likely has the highly contagious BA.5 variant of COVID-19, although his symptoms “continue to improve,” White House physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor wrote in a July 23 memo.

“His primary symptoms, though less troublesome, now include sore throat, rhinorrhea, loose cough, and body aches,” O’Connor wrote in the memo, noting that Biden finished his second full day of Pfizer’s antiviral pill Paxlovid on July 22 and “continues to tolerate treatment well.”

The sore throat and body aches are new symptoms for the president.

Biden is responding to therapy “as expected,” O'Connor said, noting that his vital signs, such as pulse, blood pressure, breathing, and temperature, “remain entirely normal.”

Based on preliminary sequencing, O'Connor determined that Biden caught the “particularly transmissible” BA.5 variant, which is the strain that’s responsible for between 75 percent and 80 percent of current infections in the United States.

Biden will continue to isolate and his condition will be monitored closely, the doctor said.

President Joe Biden appeared in a video to speak about his COVID-19 case that was uploaded to his Twitter account on July 21, 2022. (President Joe Biden/Twitter screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Double Vaccinated and Twice Boosted

The president, who’s fully vaccinated and has taken two booster doses of the vaccine, tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, on July 21 and has reported “very mild symptoms.”

In his first statement since getting sick, Biden said he was “doing great” and “keeping busy.”

Noting that he was “double vaccinated” and “double boosted,” the president said he’s “getting a lot of work done” and thanked people for expressing concern about his health.

Given Biden’s age, he’s considered at risk for developing a severe case of COVID-19.

President Joe Biden waves as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on July 20, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

‘Doing Really Quite Well’

White House adviser and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci weighed in on Biden’s condition in a July 23 interview on Fox News.

“The president is doing really quite well. He continues to improve,” Fauci told the media outlet, noting that he speaks to Biden’s doctor twice a day and believes Biden’s doing well enough to work.

“He’s following the course of a person who’s otherwise quite healthy, who did the right thing, got vaccinated, double-boosted, did the right thing, went on Paxlovid, and is doing well.

“So I think there’s nothing wrong with what he’s doing by trying to get work done from a virtual standpoint.”

Fauci credited Biden’s mild symptoms to the fact that he’s vaccinated and boosted.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks in Washington on May 11, 2022. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

‘Voice Remains Deep’

Biden took part in a virtual briefing with his economic team on July 22 to discuss high gas prices.

“I apologize for my voice. I’m feeling a lot better than I sound,” Biden said at the briefing in a scratchy voice as he talked about lowering high prices at the pump.

In his memo on Biden’s condition, O'Connor noted that the president’s “voice remains deep,” suggesting that he’s getting better.

The White House stated that it has started the process of figuring out who was in close contact with Biden and communicating with those individuals.

First Lady Jill Biden said in a statement on Twitter that she has tested negative for the virus.