COVID -19 Infections Growing, Subvariant Incredibly Contagious: Ashish Jha

WASHINGTON, DC –  White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told reporters while giving an update on President Joe Biden’s condition, “I think infections are obviously growing given how incredibly contagious the subvariant has been.” 

On July 22, the White House tweeted images of Biden working, saying, “President Biden continued working from the White House this morning, including speaking by phone with his national security team.”
On July 21, after he had tested positive Biden released a video, saying, “I’ve been double vaccinated, double boosted, the symptoms are mild, and I really appreciate your inquiries and concerns. But I’m doing well, getting a lot of work done. Going to continue to get it done. And in the meantime, thanks for your concern and keep the faith. It’s going to be OK,” he said.
Jha said that medical officials don’t expect the president to develop additional symptoms at this point. He’s breathing well and his oxygen level is normal. He also urged everyone over the age of 50 who has not received a booster shot in 2022 to do so “now.”
Jha encouraged people who do test positive for COVID-19 to check their eligibility for treatments.
“Obviously, we work hard to protect the president, make sure that he’s been vaccinated and boosted, has access to treatments,” Jha said. “We also have been working very very hard to make sure every American has access to the same things. Because every American deserves access to the best vaccines, the best treatments, and they are widely available.”
The President has begun taking the antiviral treatment Paxlovid, according to Jha. He said that a sample of the virus that infected Biden is being sequenced, which could provide greater insight into how and where the president contracted the virus.
The BA.5 subvariant of omicron dominates the summer wave of COVID-19 in the USA. Hospitals in 35 states reported more COVID-19 patients, and hospitals in 25 states had more patients in intensive care beds, according to Health and Human Services data. There have been 89.7 million Covid cases in the US and more than one million deaths according to CDC. The US has been seeing a rebound in cases, which are up by more than 25 percent in the last month. COVID-19 has killed more than 1 million Americans since March 2020.