Biden improves 'significantly,' throat still sore from COVID

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden continues to "improve significantly" despite a lingering sore throat from his coronavirus infection, according to an update Sunday from his doctor.

"The president is responding to therapy as expected," wrote Dr. Kevin O'Connor in his latest note. Biden has been taking Paxlovid, an antiviral drug that helps reduce the chance of severe illness.

O'Connor wrote that Biden still has a sore throat, though other symptoms, including a cough, runny nose and body aches, "have diminished considerably."

Biden tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday morning. O'Connor said Saturday that the president likely became infected with a highly contagious variant, known as BA.5, that is spreading throughout the country, and Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said Sunday, "It is the BA.5 variant."

"Thank goodness our vaccines and therapeutics work well against it, which is why I think the president's doing well," Jha told CBS' "Face the Nation."

Jha also gave a positive update on the president's health.

"I checked in with his team late last night.

He was feeling well. He had a good day yesterday," Jha said.

That variant is an offshoot of the omicron strain that emerged late last year. It is believed responsible for the vast majority of coronavirus cases in the country. He has been isolating in the White House residence since then.

Administration officials have emphasized that his symptoms are mild because he has received four vaccine doses, and he started taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid after becoming infected.

Jha pledged that the White House would keep giving updates on the president's condition and whether he might have long-term symptoms.