MINNESOTA, USA — President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID.
The news was shared by the White House early Thursday morning.
Officials say the president is isolating and is showing minor symptoms of a runny nose and fatigue.
The president testing positive for COVID has sparked a lot of questions and misinformation online.
On social media there's a debate over how many times President Biden has tested positive for COVID.
According to White House officials this is the first time.
Another commonly asked question is "how did he get it?"
One KARE-11 viewer says, "I thought he was fully vaccinated and boosted?"
White House officials say the President is vaccinated and boosted and doctors say even people who are fully vaccinated and boosted can still get COVID.
"The COVID vaccines like any other vaccine don't prevent infection 100% of the time. What they're really designed to do specifically with these COVID vaccines is prevent a severe and big illness,” Hennepin Healthcare Internal Medicine Clinic Director Dr. Kate Hust says.
Dr. Hust says the vaccines may also be even less effective against the newest Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 because those subvariants popped up AFTER the vaccines were developed.
But the vaccines still offer some protection.
We're also seeing a lot of questions about Paxlovid.
White House officials say the president is currently taking Paxlovid to fight off his COVID infection.
Dr. Hust says Paxlovid is an antiviral that can help prevent the COVID virus from replicating in your body.
"It has to be started by the fifth day of somebody's covid symptoms and it's something that is only available at this time to people who have symptoms,” Dr. Hust says.
Lastly, people are also wondering about these new subvariants.
Dr. Hust says right now they appear to be less serious than other variants of the virus.
"While they seem to cause a more mild illness, for most individuals, they are more transmissible which means they are easier to spread amongst people,” Dr. Hust says.
And since these new subvariants are less serious, doctors say they can easily be mistaken for a cold or allergies.
They're encouraging people to keep a few tests on hand and take a test anytime you're showing symptoms so you can protect the people around you.
