None of the 17 people who were in close contact with Joe Biden at the time of his COVID diagnosis have tested positive for the disease, said Ashish Jha, White House coronavirus coordinator.
“As of yesterday, 17 is back the number we’re tracking in the White House medical department – none of them have tested positive since yesterday,” Jha told ABC’s This Week program on Sunday morning.
“Obviously all of these people have been contacted,” he added. “They are following CDC protocol. And we will continue to follow them.”
Vice President Kamala Harris and First Lady Jill Biden are among the close contacts, along with some senior officials and members of Congress.
Democratic Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Democratic Representatives Jake Auchincloss and Bill Keating traveled with Biden to Somerset, Massachusetts on an Air Force Wednesday.
The “close contact” protocol at the White House means that a person must be within two meters of the person who has tested positive for more than 15 minutes. This is the same guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
White House COVID Coordinator Ashish Jha said Sunday morning that all 17 people determined to have close contact with President Joe Biden have not tested positive for COVID. He also said that Biden has been feeling “much, much better” since Saturday night.
Noting that COVID-19 protocols were already “tight,” Jha noted that Biden would often meet with people outdoors.
The president’s doctor said in a Sunday update on his condition that Biden’s symptoms are improving “significantly” but he still has a sore throat three days after the initial COVID-19 diagnosis.
“His voice stays a bit low,” noted White House Physician Kevin O’Connor in his letter to Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
The sore throat, says Dr. O’Connor, are “probably a result of lymphoid activation as his body clears the virus and are therefore encouraging.”
‘His cold [runny nose]Cough and body aches have decreased significantly,” he stated.
White House coronavirus response coordinator Ashish Jha also said Sunday morning that Biden is feeling “much, much better” following his COVID-19 diagnosis.
“I checked in with his team late last night,” Jha told CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan. “He felt good. He had a good day yesterday. He has viral syndrome, which is an upper respiratory infection, and is doing well.’
“So we didn’t get any updates this morning, but last night he was much, much better,” Jha said hours before O’Connor posted his update.
Biden received his positive diagnosis during a routine COVID test conducted on Thursday.
White House Physician Kevin O’Connor sent another update to President Joe Biden on Sunday following his positive COVID diagnosis. The letter said Biden’s “predominant symptom” is a sore throat and, as a result, a deeper-than-usual voice
White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Asish Jah, confirms President Biden has been infected with the BA.5 variant of COVID 19 and is ‘fine’. pic.twitter.com/ABiue2Y7xw
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) July 24, 2022
dr Kevin O’Connor is Biden’s White House doctor. He has been sending presidential updates since his COVID diagnosis on Thursday
When news of his diagnosis broke, the President said he was feeling fine and working in isolation at the White House.
dr O’Connor said Sunday morning that Biden completed his third day of PAXLOVID treatment on Saturday night.
Biden, the doctor said, will continue to isolate because he has the highly contagious BA.5 variant.
Jha said the advent of the BA.5 variant creates a greater need for continued indoor masking.
“Masks work, don’t they?” he said. “They are clearly slowing down transmission. Therefore, in areas of high transmission, I find it highly advisable to wear masks indoors, especially when in crowded, poorly ventilated spaces.
The doctor said 80 percent of current COVID infections in the US are this BA. 5 variant.
“Thank God our vaccines and therapeutics work well against it [this variant]which is why I think the president is fine,” he said on Sunday.
The President’s doctor, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, in an update on Biden’s condition Saturday, wrote that his previous symptoms, including a runny nose and cough, had become “less bothersome.”
His earlier notes following Biden’s diagnosis Thursday did not mention a sore throat or body aches.
President Joe Biden speaks virtually during a meeting with his economics team in the South Court Auditorium in the White House complex in Washington Friday, July 22, 2022 as he remained in isolation following his COVID diagnosis
Biden’s vital signs, such as blood pressure and respiratory rate, “remain perfectly normal,” and his oxygen saturation readings are “excellent” with “no shortness of breath at all,” the doctor wrote in his latest update.
“His lungs remain free,” he added.
O’Connor said preliminary DNA sequencing results, which suggest Biden is infected with the BA.5 variant, “do not affect his treatment plan in any way.”
Jha vowed Sunday the White House would continue to update on the president’s condition and whether he may have long-term symptoms.
“We think it’s really important for the American people to know how well their president is doing,” he said.
“If he has persistent symptoms, obviously if any of them are affecting his ability to carry out his duties, we will of course be communicating this to the American people early and often. But I suspect this will be a trajectory of COVID that we have seen in many Americans who have been fully vaccinated, double boosted and treated with these tools in hand,” added Jha.
“The President is doing well and we expect that he will continue to do so.”
HOW COVID ANTIVIRAL TREATMENTS WORK:
Lagevrio and Paxlovid are oral antiviral treatments that work by blocking the ability of the Covid-19 virus to multiply in the body.
The medication must be prescribed by an authorized prescribing physician such as a general practitioner or nurse practitioner.
Oral treatment should be administered as soon as possible after the diagnosis of Covid-19 and within five days of the symptoms for the best result.
The capsules are taken twice a day for five days, with the most common side effects including diarrhea, nausea, and dizziness.
Lagevrio was prioritized earlier this year for use in residential aged care facilities as a priority for the elderly.
That’s because Paxlovid isn’t safe to use with certain other medications and shouldn’t be taken by people with severe kidney or liver disease.
The two active substances in the medicine, nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, which are given as separate tablets, must be taken together twice a day for five days.
Oral treatment is not intended as a substitute for vaccination against Covid-19, with vaccines considered to be the best protection against the virus.
Source: Australian Department of Health