WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden tested positive again Saturday morning for COVID-19 as part of a “rebound” of the virus that Paxlovid-treated patients sometimes experience, his doctor said.
Biden has not experienced a resurgence of symptoms, Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, said in a letter, and as a result, his doctors will not restart medical treatment.
Still, Biden will return to isolation, O’Connor said.
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Paxlovid is home antiviral therapy for people at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Biden, 79, was at risk because of her age. He has been vaccinated and boosted against the virus.
Biden made his first public appearance Wednesday after first testing positive for COVID-19 on July 21. The president tested negative Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, prompting him to end isolation, and again on Thursday and Friday mornings, according to O’Connor. .
Some people who have received Paxlovid have had rebound infections of COVID-19, which can occur as soon as a few days after testing negative.
In the small proportion of Paxlovid patients whose infections come back, they don’t get sick enough to require hospitalization, said Dr. Ashish Jha, White House COVID-19 response coordinator.
Contact Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19: President Joe Biden tests positive for virus again