Kevin O’Connor, physician to Joe Biden, has issued an update on the president’s health, after he tested positive for COVID-19 last week. O’Connor also corrected a previous statement he made about the prevalence of the virus strain Biden is infected with.
The doctor’s letter, addressed to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, was written on Sunday, the same day Biden announced he would not run for reelection in November’s presidential election and endorsed vice president Kamala Harris.
“President Biden completed his eighth dose of Paxlovid [an antiviral COVID-19 medication] this morning,” O’Connor wrote. “His symptoms have improved significantly. His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain absolutely normal. His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear.
“The President continues to tolerate treatment without any difficulty and will continue Paxlovid as planned. He continues to perform all of his presidential duties,” O’Connor wrote.
Susan Walsh/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“I will continue to keep your office updated with any changes in his condition or treatment plan,” O’Connor added.
Although Biden will not stand for reelection in November, he said he will continue to serve as president for the remainder of his term.
Newsweek has contacted the White House for further comment outside business hours.
O’Connor also said that, in his Saturday update, he incorrectly overstated the prevalence of the strand of COVID-19 Biden is infected with, mistakenly saying it accounts for 33 percent of national COVID-19 infections when it accounts for only 12.8 per cent.
That virus strain is part of a group of variants, dubbed FLiRT, which rose to dominance across the U.S. in May; experts said it could cause a potential “summer wave” of COVID-19 cases.
The FLiRT variant Biden has, KP.2.3, is the third most prevalent strain in the country. Since June, another strain called KP.3, became the most prevalent strain and now represents 32.9 percent of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Before stepping down on Sunday, Biden faced mounting calls to end his campaign in the weeks following his disastrous debate performance in Atlanta. Since he was diagnosed with COVID-19, it has been reported that the most senior congressional Democrats, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and Hakeem Jeffries, privately advised the president to end his campaign.
Now that Biden has stepped down, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Jaime Harrison told Newsweek that the party would “undertake a transparent and orderly process” to choose a new nominee. Harris is currently the leading candidate to secure the nomination.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.