The president of the United States, Joe Biden, returned to test positive for covid-19 this Saturday and is in isolation again, although he has no new symptoms and feels well, his doctor, Kevin O’Connor, said in a statement distributed by the White House.
O’Connor attributed Biden’s positive test for COVID-19 to the effects of the oral antiretroviral drug Paxlovid that he took for five days to help with symptoms of the disease.
According to the doctor, that anticovid pill may have a "rebound effect" which is what Biden, 79, is experiencing and who has received two doses of the vaccine and two other boosters.
Biden himself announced on Twitter that he had tested positive for covid-19 again, something that happens to a "small minority" of those who take Paxlovid.
"I have no symptoms but I am going to self-isolate for the safety of all those around me. I’m working and I’ll be back on the road soon"Biden said, expressing his desire to travel the country again.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre added on Twitter that the president is working in the White House residence to remain in isolation, instead of in the Oval Office as he usually does.
In his note, O’Connor explained that Biden has not experienced a return of symptoms and continues to feel "fairly good"so no treatment will be started again at this time, although "obviously" medical staff continue to watch his progress closely, he said.
The White House announced last Thursday, July 21, that Biden had been infected and on Wednesday, July 27, he came out of isolation after testing negative for covid-19.
According to the presidential doctor, Biden had tested negative in the tests that were done on Tuesday night, as well as on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning; but he tested positive in the antigen test that was done on Saturday morning.
US health authorities acknowledged in May that Paxlovid, a drug manufactured by Pfizer, can cause a "rebound" but they continue to recommend its use for adults and those over 12 years of age, especially when these people are at risk of complications from covid-19.
The effect "rebound" It can occur between 2 and 8 days after your initial recovery and manifests itself with the reappearance of symptoms or the positive result of a test, the government Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States (CDC, for its acronym in English).
