First Lady Dr. Jill Biden Tests Positive For COVID-19
By Jason Hall
August 16, 2022
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, her communications director, Elizabeth Alexander confirmed to CNN on Tuesday (August 16).
“After testing negative for Covid-19 on Monday during her regular testing cadence, the First Lady began to develop cold-like symptoms late in the evening. She tested negative again on a rapid antigen test, but a PCR test came back positive,” Alexander said.
Alexander said Dr. Biden, who is double vaccinated and is twice boosted, is currently taking Pfizer's antiviral drug, Paxlovid, amid her diagnosis.
Dr. Biden is currently staying in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, with her husband, President Joe Biden.
“She is currently staying at a private residence in South Carolina and will return home after she receives two consecutive negative Covid tests,” Alexander said via CNN.
A source reported to be close to the first lady told CNN that Dr. Biden is "feeling good" and has symptoms similar to the "common cold."
President Biden, who was cleared to emerge from isolation following a rebound COVID-19 case earlier this month, is scheduled to return to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to deliver remarks and sign the Inflation Reduction Act, a 755-page bill calling for $430 billion funded by savings on prescription drugs and taxes on corporations to be used to battle climate change and extend health care coverage.
President Biden is also scheduled to host a Cabinet meeting focused on implementing the new law and promoting it across the U.S. "in the coming weeks," White House officials confirmed to ABC News.