Biden gives video update after testing positive for COVID again

President Biden offered a video update on his health after his physician said he had tested positive again for COVID-19.

“Hey folks, Joe Biden here. Tested positive this morning. Going to be working from home for the next couple days,” Biden said in the video, next to his dog, Commander. 

“And I’m feeling fine, everything’s good. But Commander and I got a little work to do.”

Biden’s physician, Kevin O’Connor, said in a letter to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre earlier on Saturday that the president had tested positive for COVID-19 again after testing negative several times since Tuesday.

He noted that some patients treated with the antiviral COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid sometimes experience a COVID-19 “rebound.” Biden is fully vaccinated and has received two boosters. 

O’Connor said that the president, who is 79, would be returning to “strict isolation procedures,” but said he did not see the need for Biden to receive treatment again given that the president was feeling well. 

In recent days, a number of senators have also tested positive for COVID-19 as the upper chamber prepares to vote on a reconciliation package that includes priorities like health, taxes and climate. But the passage of it before the August recess could be complicated given all 50 Senate Democrats need to be present in order to pass it.