President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, the White House announced on Thursday.

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, the White House announced on Thursday

  • Biden is experiencing "very mild symptoms" and has begun taking Paxlovid, Pfizer's antiviral COVID-19 treatment, according to his spokesperson.

  • The president was last tested on Tuesday; he greeted Ukraine’s first lady at the White House that day and then traveled to Massachusetts on Wednesday, where he was seen coming into contact with multiple members of Congress, local officials and White House staff

  • Biden, who is 79, is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and was boosted twice

In a video posted to social media Thursday afternoon, President Biden gave an update on his condition.

"Hey folks guess you heard this morning I tested positive for COVID," he said in the video. "I've been double vaccinated, double boosted, symptoms are mild, and I really appreciate your inquiries and concerns. And I'm doing well. Getting a lot of work done, I'm going to continue to get it done. And in the meantime, thanks for your concern and keep the faith. It's going to be okay."

The president is experiencing "very mild symptoms" and has begun taking Paxlovid, Pfizer's antiviral COVID-19 treatment, the White House spokesperson said.

Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the physician to the president, said in a letter that President Biden tested positive on a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test. He is experiencing a runny nose, an occasional dry cough and some fatigue, which began yesterday evening, Dr. O'Connor said. Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House's Coronavirus Response Coordinator, told CNN on Thursday morning that Biden did not have a fever this morning.

"Folks, I'm doing great," Biden said in a Twitter post Thursday afternoon. "Thanks for your concern."

"Just called Senator Casey, Congressman Cartwright, and Mayor Cognetti (and my Scranton cousins!) to send my regrets for missing our event today," he continued, in reference to a previously scheduled event Thursday afternoon in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to discuss gun crime. "Keeping busy!"

Following Biden's Thursday visit to Wilkes-Barre, Biden was set to head to Philadelhia for a Democratic National Committee fundraiser. He was also set to travel to Orlando, Fla., and Tampa, Fla., but a White House official confirmed to Spectrum News that the trip was canceled.

"Consistent with CDC guidelines, he will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. "He has been in contact with members of the White House staff by phone this morning, and will participate in his planned meetings at the White House this morning via phone and Zoom from the residence."

The president, who is 79, is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and has been boosted twice. He will work in isolation until he tests negative for COVID-19 consistent with White House COVID protocols, Jean-Pierre said, and he will return to in-person work once he tests negative.

"Out of an abundance of transparency, the White House will provide a daily update on the President’s status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation," she said.

White House officials have previously said President Biden is tested at a “regular cadence,” and he last tested negative on Tuesday, July 19.

Biden greeted Ukraine’s first lady at the White House that day and then traveled to Massachusetts on Wednesday, visibly coming in contact with multiple members of Congress, local officials and White House staff.

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, who was with the president on Tuesday, left Wednesday to travel with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona this week for a summer learning tour. 

The first lady told reporters in Detroit that she has negative for COVID-19 and that President Biden is "doing fine."

"I talked to him just a few minutes ago," Dr. Biden said. "He’s doing fine, he’s feeling good.”

Dr. Biden said that she will continue to keep her schedule and adhere to CDC guidelines. Spectrum News has reached out to the first lady’s office for comment.

Several prominent officials wished Biden a speedy recovery, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said that she hopes the president's symptoms continue to remain minor.

“I understand that the symptoms are light," the California Democrat said at her weekly press conference. "I hope they continue to be so. That was my experience.”

A number of other White House officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have contracted COVID-19 during preivous waves, but the president avoided the virus up until this point. 

Vice President Harris tested negative Thursday morning, per her spokesperson. Harris was last with the president on Tuesday.

"This morning, [Biden] and I spoke by phone," she said at an event in Charlotte, North Carolina. "He is in good spirits. He is feeling well. He is doing well. He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted. And […] we would encourage who is eligible to do the same."

"He is working from the White House residence and when we spoke he was very pleased, as I said, that we were here together today, talking about the work our administration is doing on behalf of parents and working families and all who deserve to be seen and heard," she added.

Biden's predecessor, former President Donald Trump, contracted COVID-19 in October 2020, weeks before the election and months before the first COVID-19 vaccines were available. Treatment options were also much less readily available at the time. After being diagnosed with COVID-19 at the White House, Trump was given an experimental antibody treatment and steroids after his blood oxygen levels fell dangerously low. Trump was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for three days.

Spectrum News' Rachel Tillman contributed to this report.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.