President Joe Biden tested negative for Covid Saturday, but will continue to isolate until he tests negative a second time, his doctor said in a letter.
The President continues to feel very well, according to Dr. Kevin O Connor, the White House physician, a week after Biden, 79, tested positive in a rebound case of Covid. His SARS-CoV- 2 antigen testing was negative this morning. O'Connor said he will continue his strict isolation measures pending a second negative test as previously described.
Biden, who is fully vaccinated and twice boosted, tested positive for Covid on July 21 during a routine test, and was treated with the antiviral Paxlovid. The president had tested negative for several days in a row before he tested positive again last Saturday in what O'Connor described as a rebound case.
O'Connor said last week that Biden was doing well and wouldn't be rehired in treatment.
A minority of people who take Paxlovid to treat Covid experience as a rebound case. Around 1% to 2% of people who took Paxlovid in Pfizer's clinical trial tested positive for the coronavirus after having been tested negative. The White House Covid response coordinator, Ashish Jha, said that rebound rates are around 5% among the tens of thousands of people who have taken the drug in real-life settings.
Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to Biden, who had Covid in June, said he also experienced a Paxlovid rebound.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of possible recurrences in May, and said that people who test positive again may still be contagious and should restart isolation for at least five days.