Vigorous but coughing, COVID-positive Biden appears virtually at White House meeting

AFP

US President Joe Biden appeared virtually at a White House meeting of economic advisers on Friday to highlight his good health a day after testing positive for COVID-19.

Speaking remotely at the meeting to discuss White House efforts to lower gas prices, Biden appeared vigorous and in good spirits but with a noticeably deeper voice, hours after his doctor released a statement saying his symptoms had improved.

"I'm feeling much better than I sound," he said, apologizing for intermittent coughs as he described recent efforts to lower gasoline prices. "Gas prices are coming down. In fact, gas prices have fallen every day," he said.

Seated at a desk in the White House residence and flanked by a bag of Halls cough drops and a box of tissues that was quickly removed before his remarks began, Biden gave a thumbs-up when asked by reporters how he felt.

Biden, 79, tested positive for COVID on Thursday when the White House said he was experiencing mild symptoms and would continue working but in isolation. His diagnosis comes as a highly contagious subvariant of the coronavirus drives a new wave of cases in the United States.

A letter released from the White House physician, Kevin O'Connor, said Biden reached 37.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday night but he responded favorably to Tylenol and was breathing normally.

"His voice is deeper this morning. His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation remain normal, on room air," O'Connor said. Biden has a runny nose, fatigue and occasional dry cough, the doctor said.

At the Friday afternoon briefing, White House COVID-19 Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha stressed that the 37.4 degrees Celsius reading was the highest Biden had experienced during his illness. Jha noted that Biden's vitals had remained in the normal range but admitted the president had used an inhaler a couple of times since testing positive.

Overall, Jha said Biden was doing better, noting that he had slept well and ate his breakfast and lunch. "He joked that his one regret was that his appetite had not changed," Jha said, adding that the president "was, and is, in a very good mood."

On Friday, as the White House sought to convey a sense of normalcy, it also released another photo of Biden signing legislation a day earlier wearing a black mask.

"The president said he is still putting in eight-plus hours of work a day," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a daily briefing.

O'Connor said two medicines that Biden takes, Eliquis for atrial fibrillation and cholesterol drug Crestor, are being held back temporarily to avoid interfering with his treatment course of the antiviral drug Paxlovid. He said low-dose aspirin is being added to Biden's treatment as an alternative blood thinner.

"The president is tolerating treatment well," he said.

Biden, who is the oldest person ever to serve as president of the United States, is due to hold a total of three virtual meetings with his staff on Friday, including his economic, legislative and national security aides, according to his public schedule released by the White House.