NEWSJill Biden Tests Positive For COVID-19, Experiencing 'Mild Symptoms'
Aug. 16 2022, Published 10:31 a.m. ET
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, just a few weeks after her husband, President Joe Biden, had the virus.
On Tuesday, August 16, the White House announced that she was experiencing "mild symptoms," while her husband has continued to test negative.
The Bidens just returned from a vacation in South Carolina, and the 71-year-old first began experiencing symptoms on Monday, August 15. She has taken Paxlovid, which is what Joe also took when he was sick.
“Close contacts of the First Lady have been notified,” her communications director, Elizabeth Alexander, said in a statement. “She is currently staying at a private residence in South Carolina and will return home after she receives two consecutive negative COVID tests.”
In late July, Joe also tested positive for the virus. “This morning, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms. He has begun taking Paxlovid. Consistent with CDC guidelines, he will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said about his condition at the time.
Joe later took Paxlovid, and he ended up testing positive again for COVID-19, resulting in him isolating again.
The political guru felt well, but out of “an abundance of caution, the president will continue his strict isolation measures pending a second negative test,” White House physician Kevin O’Connor said.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, who also took the antiviral drug and had a rebound case, said that everything was working.
"I think there is understandable confusion when people hear about people rebounding," he shared. "Don't confuse that with the original purpose of what Paxlovid is meant for. It's not meant to prevent you from rebounding. It's meant to prevent you from being hospitalized. I'm 81 years old, I was at risk for hospitalization and I didn't even come close to being sick enough to be hospitalized."
