He will now need to isolate for another five days. Biden’s returning symptoms are an example of a rebound Covid-19 case, a phenomenon that has happened in some cases after people take Paxlovid.
Biden is isolating in the White House residence and will not be leaving Sunday, as planned, to his Delaware home to join the first lady. “He will not go to Delaware or to Michigan and he is isolating in the White House residence,” a White House official said.
Biden experienced mild symptoms in the upper floors of the White House after he tested positive for Covid-19 a week ago Thursday. He completed an initial five-day course of Paxlovid, an antiviral therapy from Pfizer, on Monday, and on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, the president tested negative for Covid-19 and ended isolation.
In late May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory about the recurrence of symptoms and noted that there have been no cases of severe disease as part of this rebound. The agency also said that there is currently no evidence that a second round of Paxlovid is necessary for these symptoms to resolve.
However, that hasn’t stopped some physicians from prescribing patients a second round of Paxlovid out of an abundance of caution. Anthony Fauci, the White House chief medical adviser, received two courses of the antiviral after experiencing a similar rebound of symptoms.
