Biden is feeling ‘much, much better’ after COVID diagnosis: White House COVID doctor Ashish Jha says

President Joe Biden is feeling ‘much, much better’ after his COVID-19 diagnosis earlier this week, the White House coronavirus response coordinator Ashish Jha said Sunday morning.

‘I checked in with his team late last night,’ Jha told CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brenna. ‘He was feeling well. He had a good day yesterday.’

‘He’s got a viral syndrome, an upper respiratory infection, that is, and he’s doing just fine,’ he added of the president’s symptoms.

‘So we haven’t gotten any updates this morning, but through last night, he was feeling much, much better,’ Jha said.

Biden received his positive diagnosis during a routine COVID test administered on Thursday. 

White House COVID Coordinator Ashish Jha said Sunday morning that as of Saturday night, President Biden is feeling ‘much, much better’ after his positive coroanvirus diagnosis on Thursday

When news was released of his diagnosis, the president said he felt fine and was working from isolation at the White House.

Jha said that the emergence of the BA.5 variant, which Biden has, is leading to more need for continued masking indoors.

‘Masks work, right?’ he said. ‘They clearly slow down transmission. So in areas of high transmission, I think it’s very prudent for people to be wearing masks indoors, especially if they’re in crowded, poorly ventilated spaces.’

The doctor said that 80 percent of current COVID infections in the U.S. are this BA. 5 variant.

‘Thank goodness, our vaccines and therapeutics work well against [this variant], which is why I think the President’s doing well,’ he said on Sunday.

The president’s physician Dr. Kevin O´Connor wrote in a Saturday update on Biden’s condition that his earlier symptoms, including a runny nose and a cough, have become ‘less troublesome.’

His earlier notes following Biden’s diagnosis Thursday did not mention any sore throat or body aches.

President Joe Biden speaks virtually during a meeting with his economic team in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington on Friday, July 22, 2022 as he remained in isolation following his COVID diagnosis

Biden’s vital signs, such as blood pressure and respiratory rate, ‘remain entirely normal,’ and his oxygen saturation levels are ‘excellent’ with ‘no shortness of breath at all,’ the doctor wrote in his latest update.

‘His lungs remain clear,’ he added.

O’Connor said the results of the preliminary DNA sequencing that indicated Biden is infected with the BA.5 variant do not affect his treatment plan ‘in any way.

Jha pledged on Sunday the White House would continue providing updates on the president’s condition and whether he might have long-term symptoms.

‘We think it’s really important for the American people to know how well their president is doing,’ he said.

‘Obviously if he has persistent symptoms, obviously if any of them interfere with his ability to carry out his duties, we will disclose that early and often with the American people. But I suspect that this is going to be a course of COVID that we’ve seen in many Americans who have ben fully vaccinated, double boosted, getting treated with those tools in hand,’ Jha added.

‘The president´s been doing well and we’re going to expect that he’s going to continue to do so.’

Dr. Kevin O´Connor, the president’s physician, wrote in his latest update on Biden’s condition Saturday that Biden’s earlier symptoms have improved