The BA.5 subvariant makes up to 80% of COVID-19 infections across much of the US. The White House physician detailed that the subvariant would not affect the president’s current treatment plan.
US President Joe Biden who is suffering from COVID 19 is likely infected by highly contagious Omicron subvariant BA.5. “Our preliminary sequencing results have returned. The President’s causative agent is most likely the BA5 variant. This is the SARS-CoV-2 variant which is responsible for 75-80 percent of infections in the United States at this time,” said President Biden’s physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor in a memo.
A White House doctor monitoring US President Joe Biden said on Saturday that the highly contagious BA.5 new coronavirus subvariant may have been the cause of his illness.
According to Sputnik News, doctor Kevin O’Connor stated that the president’s “primary symptoms” were a sore throat, rhinorrhea, loose cough, and body aches but added that he is “continuing to improve” in a weekend update.
“His voice remains deep. His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and temperature remain entirely normal,” the Saturday memo reads. “His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear.”
“He is experiencing no shortness of breath at all. He will continue low dose aspirin as an alternative type of blood thinner,” it continued.
The physician added that Biden had finished the second full day of treatment with Pfizer’s Paxlovid, an antiviral medication that lowers the likelihood of hospitalization for COVID-19 patients.
Early on Thursday, after receiving a positive COVID-19 test, Biden was placed in seclusion at the White House and has since reduced some of his responsibilities and shifted to online meetings and appearances. Insiders in the administration have highlighted the diagnosis to highlight how mild Biden’s symptoms are due to his four doses of COVID-19 vaccination.
