Biden tests positive again in COVID rebound, returns to isolation [Updated]

Enlarge / US President Joe Biden comes out of isolation following a virtual meeting on July 26, 2022. Getty | The Washington Post

Update 7/30/2022, 4:00 PM ET: Late this Saturday morning, President Joe Biden tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 again, marking the start of a "rebound" of COVID-19.

According to the president's doctor, Kevin O'Connor, Biden has no renewed symptoms and "continues to feel pretty good." However, due to the positive rapid antigen test, he will enter isolation again.

Biden, 79, first tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on Thursday, July 21, while experiencing mild symptoms. He immediately started a five-day course of the antiviral drug Paxlovid, which had ended on Tuesday July 26, when he tested negative in a rapid antigen test. He continued to test negative on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before testing positive again today.

Given his current lack of symptoms, O'Connor said Biden is not starting another round of Paxlovid. But the president will remain under close surveillance.

Notably, top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, 81, also experienced a rebound from COVID-19 after a five-day course of Paxlovid in June. He reported that his rebound symptoms were "much worse" than his initial case and took a second five-day course of Paxlovid.

Original Story 07/27/2022, 11:01 AM ET: President Joe Biden has now tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 on two separate rapid antigen tests, and he is ending his "strict isolation measures" .

The president tested negative on Tuesday evening and then again on Wednesday morning, the president's doctor, Kevin O'Connor, wrote in his daily update letter on the SARS-CoV-2 infection of the president.

Biden, 79, first tested positive Thursday morning when he had mild symptoms of a runny nose, fatigue and a dry cough.

After the diagnosis, he immediately went into isolation and began a five-day treatment with the antiviral drug Paxlovid. He completed that course 36 hours ago, O'Connor wrote. The president has no fever, and the rest of his symptoms are improving and "almost completely resolved".

Biden will now leave solitary confinement but will wear a tight-fitting mask for 10 days. The decision to end isolation exceeds standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which does not require negative tests to end isolation. The agency advises people to end self-isolation after five days, without testing, as long as they don't have a fever and their symptoms improve, but should wear a mask for up to 10 days afterwards a positive test.

O'Connor ended the letter by noting the possibility that Biden could experience a COVID "rebound" from his Paxlovid course. It's unclear why, but some people with COVID-19 experience a resurgence of symptoms and test positive again after an initial but brief recovery. This phenomenon has been reported particularly in patients taking Paxlovid, but the percentage of people who experience rebound remains unknown.

"The President will increase his testing cadence, both to protect those around him and to ensure early detection of any return of viral replication," O'Connor wrote.