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Politics and Government News
NPR Washington Desk, NPR

Biden's COVID symptoms are less troublesome, his doctor says

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President Biden talks on the phone with his national security team from the Treaty Room in the residence of the White House on Friday.
President Biden talks on the phone with his national security team from the Treaty Room in the residence of the White House on Friday.
Adama Schultz/The White House via AP

President Biden's COVID-19 symptoms now include a sore throat and body aches, in addition to a runny nose and loose cough, according to a letter from his physician released on Saturday.

Still, Dr. Kevin O'Connor says his primary symptoms are "less troublesome" after a second full day of Paxlovid treatment.

"His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain entirely normal," O'Connor writes.

He adds that Biden is "experiencing no shortness of breath at all."

O'Connor says preliminary sequencing shows the president was most likely infected with the BA.5 subvariant of omicron. Now the most prevalent coronavirus strain in the United States, BA.5 is four times more resistant to vaccines, according to a new study.

The White House is providing daily written updates from O'Connor on the president's condition while he remains ill.

The president will remain in isolation at the White House through Tuesday. If he tests negative at that point, he could resume normal activities on Wednesday, according to the course of precautions the White House says he's taking.

Biden appeared virtually on Friday at a briefing on gas prices with his economic team. His voice was scratchy, but he insisted that he felt better than he sounded. O'Connor noted on Saturday that Biden's voice sounds deep.

The White House announced on Thursday that Biden had tested positive for COVID.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.