In perhaps the most high- profile reminder so far that Covid-19 is still out there:
First lady Jill Biden tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday and is experiencing “mild symptoms,” the White House said. President Joe Biden has tested negative.
The diagnosis has upended the first lady’s plans to begin teaching the fall semester at Northern Virginia Community College on Tuesday. She is working with the school to “ensure her classes are covered by a substitute,” Vanessa Valdivia, the first lady’s spokesperson, said.
Dr. Biden, who remains at the family’s home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, typically teaches on Tuesday and Thursdays. [snip]
Last summer, the first lady tested positive for Covid-19 while vacationing in South Carolina in August. President Biden tested positive last July. Both experienced rebound cases shortly after being treated with Paxlovid.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in July in the White House briefing room that anyone who meets with the president is still tested for Covid-19 before their meeting after members of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s delegation tested positive ahead of a bilateral meeting.
“We have testing protocols when – anytime somebody meets with the president,” Jean-Pierre said at the time. “So, I can tell you that anybody who meets with the president does indeed get tested. I do. We all do.”
Jill Biden’s diagnosis comes amid renewed attention to Covid-19 as the world approaches the fourth virus season since the coronavirus arrived on the scene...
President Biden tested negative after the First Lady's positive test and continues to be monitored.
While the public health emergency was lifted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in May 2023, the virus continues to be a presence and a concern for public health. New vaccines for the most recent strains of the virus will be available in the Fall. The CDC still recommends that "everyone 6 years and older should get 1 updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of whether they’ve received any original COVID-19 vaccines." (More guidance at this link.)
In the meantime, we wish the First Lady a speedy recovery.
