Where is President Biden? -- He was out of quarantine/isolation and back on the 2022 campaign trail on 8/30/22

Last update: Wednesday 8/31/22 

<Original Post 8/14/22>
Readers who follow the president's @POTUS feed on Twitter will have noticed the absence of any photos showing him in the company of other people since 8/10/22 = 6 days. Gregarious to a fault, the president is an old-time political pro who relishes the company of others, especially when there's opportunity for celebration. Given his spate of big legislative wins last week, one would have expected to see lots of joyous photos showing him amid VIP's and staff with lots of fist bumps and high fives all around .... and few wearing masks. But recent photos have shown the president by himself or on split screens with others on Zoom calls. One has to wonder if the president has had another Paxlovid rebound and has burrowed into groundhog isolation for a few days. If so, let's all hope that he's back to his old self asap, but this time wearing N95 masks everywhere ... :-)  

If the president is, indeed, isolating because of a second rebound, and if he follows the new FDA guidance, he should test three times every two days. If all three tests are negative he might reappear in group photos on Wednesday 8/17/22 ... but this assumes that the president  is using self-tests, which might yield false negatives. If he receives far more reliable PCR tests, two negatives might enable him to stop isolating on Monday 8/15/22.

• "People Exposed to Coronavirus May Need to Take as Many as Three At-Home Tests, F.D.A. Says", Emily Anthes. NY Times, 8/12/22

He needs to sign the big inflation reduction bill asap that was passed by House and Senate last week, and he is sure to want to do with lots of his Congress/Senate allies standing close by, passing out signing pens to the most important. 

</Original Post 8/14/22>

<Update 8/16/22>

@POTUS speaking before signing:  ...  Click the link to a video of the signing ceremony

He wore a mask before the speech... but he took it off afterwards for the signing ... then he put it back on again .... Maybe OK for the original variant way back in 2020, but bad news for the new super transmissible BA.5 ... especially for its very old primary victims, like our almost 80 year old president ... SNAFU... SNAFU ... SNAFU ... SNAFU ... :-(

</Update 8/16/22>

<Update 8/19/22>

The President has resumed posting glorified selfies on his @POTUS Twitter feed. If he is in quarantine because of his wife's infection, whose guidelines is he following? Or is he in isolation because of yet another Paxlovid rebound? 

</Update 8/19/22>

<Update 8/23/22>

President Biden posted an old outdoor photo of himself with other people that was taken on his trip to the Kentucky flooded area on 8/10/22. When will he really emerge from quarantine/isolation?

</Update 8/23/22>

<Update 8/24/22>

The president posted a video of himself, unmasked while  standing at a lectern discussing his recent student loan forgiveness initiative. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona stood behind him. but off to the side. Members of the press were in the room, but not shown on camera. When the president finished his presentation he only took one or two questions from the unseen press, then he left abruptly, keeping Secretary Cardona at a distance. No bear hugs, fist bumps, or high fives.

Note: This blog's editor missed the following Reuters report on 8/24/22. It suggests that the president is negative, but in quarantine because of his wife's recent rebound infection. He is being tested every day.

• "Biden will mask for 10 days after first lady's rebound case of COVID, White House says", Reuters, 8/24/22

</Update 8/24/22>

<Update 8/31/22>

President Biden was out of the White House and back on the campaign trail yesterday, up close,  and no mask, i.e., back to "normal", his normal. This is the last update on this matter on this blog.

Our president has been criticized for placing too much emphasis on vaccines and treatments, and too little on mitigations. His critics, including the editor of this blog, are correct. If these were normal times, we might shrug off his foolishness and begin to contemplate what kind of president VP Harris might become; but with climate change, long COVID, and our democracy under siege, these are not normal times, no matter how much our #YOLO 79 year old president might wish they were. So good luck, Mr. President, and good luck to all of us ... :-(

</Update 8/31/22>

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Links to related notes on this blog:  

• "Our pandemic of the elderly -- dead unvaccinated, dead vaccinated, and dead boosted", Last update: 7/21/22