Joe Biden has again tested positive for Covid-19 in a rare case of ‘rebound’ after treatment with an antiviral drug.
The White House said the 79-year-old president, who only came out of isolation on Wednesday, will now go back to jail until he tests negative.
It means he’s had to cancel scheduled trips to his home in Wilmington and a work trip to Michigan.
The White House physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said Biden’s positive test is believed to be the result of a “rebound” experienced by a small number of people taking Paxlovid.
He said in a letter that the president “has not experienced any renewed symptoms and is still feeling reasonably well.” The medic added that “there is no reason to restart treatment at this time.”
Mr Biden was treated with the antiviral drug Paxlovíd after he first tested positive on July 21.
He tested negative last Tuesday and Wednesday and was then allowed to leave the isolation while wearing a mask indoors.
His positive tests put him in the minority of those prescribed the drug to experience a rebound case of the virus.
dr. Ashish Jha, White House Covid-19 coordinator, told reporters Monday that data “suggest that between 5 and 8% of people have rebounded” after treatment with Paxlovid.
According to the CDC, those with rebound Covid need to isolate for at least five days, ending when a fever has resolved for 24 hours without medication and symptoms have improved.
The patient “must wear a mask for a total of 10 days after rebound symptoms start,” it says, adding, “Some people continue to test positive after day 10, but are significantly less likely to shed infectious virus.”
Both the Food and Drug Administration and Pfizer point out that 1% to 2% of people in Pfizer’s original study of Paxlovid saw their virus levels rise again after 10 days.
The percentage was about the same among people taking the drug or the dummy pills, “so it’s unclear at this point whether this is related to drug treatment,” the FDA said.
While Biden tested negative, he returned to holding in-person indoor events and meetings with White House staff and wore a mask, consistent with CDC guidelines.
But the president took off his mask indoors when making comments on Thursday and when meeting with CEOs at the White House complex.
Regulators are still studying the prevalence and virulence of rebound cases, but the CDC warned doctors in May that it was reported within two to eight days of the initial negative test for the virus.
“Limited information currently available from case reports suggests that individuals treated with Paxlovid who experience Covid-19 rebound have had mild illness; there are no reports of serious illness,” the agency said at the time.
Paxlovid has been proven to significantly reduce serious illness and death among those most vulnerable to Covid-19.
US health officials have encouraged those who test positive to see their doctor or pharmacist to see if they should receive the treatment, despite the rebound risk.
Mr. Biden has been fully vaccinated, having received two doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine shortly before taking office, an initial booster shot in September and an additional dose on March 30.
While patients who have recovered from previous variants of Covid-19 generally have a high level of immunity against future reinfection for 90 days, said Dr. Jha that the BA.5 subvariant that infected the president was found to be more “immune-evasive.” .
“We’ve seen many people re-infected within 90 days,” he said, adding that officials have no data yet on how long those recovering from the BA.5 strain are protected from reinfection.
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