Image credits: Lisa Ferdinando

Covid-19: Biden tests positive amid new wave of variants in the US

The American White House announced this Thursday (21) that President Joe Biden, 79, tested positive for COVID-19 in the morning. The news comes at a time of concern about the multiplication of Omicron variants and new cases in the country.

American President Biden, 79 years old, tested positive for Covid-19, according to the White House press secretary. “He is fully vaccinated and boosted twice and has very mild symptoms,” she said. The current level of severity of the pandemic places the country in a climate of tension: in addition to multiple Ômicron subvariants spreading (BBC), there are a large number of new people infected with the virus.

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The United States has surpassed 1 million COVID-19 deaths and nearly 90 million cases to date. The moving average of new cases in the country is 126.018 thousand, as recorded by the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Biden is already receiving treatment with the Paxlovid medicine (Brazil Agency), whose use is authorized in the United States in emergency cases, which include mild to moderate infections in children under 12 years of age or at-risk patients.

The president received his first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in 2020 and two boosters of the vaccine in March and September 2021. Both full vaccination and booster doses have been proven to reduce the risk of worsening Biden's infection or hospitalization , who is the oldest citizen to hold the presidency of the United States.

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Risk of new cases

His last test was on Tuesday, the 19th, and the result was negative. In recent weeks, people close to the president such as Vice President Kamala Harris and her deputy chief of staff have also become infected with the disease. The new cases were also reported by several members of Congress.

The White House said it will disseminate to those involved the guidelines filed by the country's Center for Disease Control, as the president had direct contact with members of the press, Congress and other people during events and trips.

(Top photo: “President Joe Biden, the Pentagon, Washington, DC” Feb. 10, 2021. Flickr/Lisa Ferdinando)

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