Biden’s Covid symptoms are improving ‘significantly,’ doctor says

President Joe Biden’s Covid symptoms “continue to improve significantly,” his doctor said in a letter Sunday.

Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House physician, said that the president completed his third full day of treatment with the antiviral drug Paxlovid on Saturday and that his “predominant symptom” is only a sore throat. Biden, who tested positive for Covid on Thursday, had been fully vaccinated and twice boosted, the White House said.

“This is most likely a result of lymphoid activation as his body clears the virus, and is thus encouraging,” O’Connor said of Biden’s sore throat. “His rhinorrhea, cough and body aches have diminished considerably. His voice remains a bit deep. His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature all remain normal. His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear.” (Rhinorrhea is a runny nose.)

O’Connor said that Biden is responding well to treatment and that he is not experiencing shortness of breath, adding that his symptoms will continue to be “treated supportively” with oral hydration, Tylenol and the albuterol inhaler that he “uses as needed for occasional cough.”

“He will continue low dose aspirin as an alternative type of blood thinner,” O’Connor added.

The White House Covid response coordinator, Dr. Ashish Jha, said Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week” that none of the 17 people deemed to be close contacts with Biden had tested positive for Covid as of late Saturday. “They’re following CDC protocol, and we’ll continue to follow them,” he said.

Jha confirmed in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that Biden was infected with a highly contagious strain, the BA.5 subvariant of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, adding, “But thank goodness our vaccines and therapeutics work well against it, which is why I think the president’s doing well.”

First lady Jill Biden tested negative for Covid again Sunday, said her press secretary, Michael LaRosa. She is in Wilmington, Delaware, and has not experienced any Covid symptoms.

Kristen Welker contributed.