
On July 21, 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden said he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing mild symptoms. In a letter to the public, Biden’s doctor explained that the president had a slight runny nose, some fatigue and the occasional dry cough, and that Biden had already begun taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid. Patrick Jackson, an assistant professor of infectious diseases at the University of Virginia, explains the risks that someone like Biden faces from a bout of COVID-19 and the treatments available.