The hoarseness and coughing which reporters noticed during a Friday speech by President Joe Biden are not symptoms of Covid-19 or another serious respiratory illness, Physician to the President Dr Kevin O’Connor said in a letter released after Biden’s cough alarmed reporters during a Friday morning speech.
“As is readily apparent, President Biden is experiencing some increased nasal congestion this week. This can be heard in his voice and he is feeling the colloquially well-known ‘frog in one’s throat,’” Dr O’Connor wrote in the letter, which was distributed by the White House press office.
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Dr O’Connor has been in charge of Biden’s medical care since 2009, when the then-Army officer was assigned as physician to the then-Vice President as part of his duties in the White House Medical Unit. He is the first civilian to serve as physician to the president in several decades, having retired from the Army in 2017.
The White House released O’Connor’s letter several hours after Biden delivered remarks on the Bureau of Labour Statistics November jobs report, stopping several times to clear his throat while doing so.
Biden’s throat-clearing has been a frequent feature at many of his public appearances since he became the oldest man to ever serve as president in January. The behavior raised enough questions about whether it reflected a problem with Biden’s health that O’Connor noted the “increasing frequency and severity” of it in a 19 November memo reporting the results of Biden’s yearly physical exam.
Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked Joe Biden if he’s ok.
“Your voice sounds a little different. Are you ok?” Peter Doocy asked Biden.
Biden replied that he was “OK” and said he is tested for Covid-19 daily. He attributed his hoarse voice to “just a cold”, which he said he’d picked up from his grandson, Beau Biden Jr.
“What I have is a one-and-a-half-year-old grandson who had a cold, who likes to kiss his Pop,” he said.
This is an excerpt from Yahoo.
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