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For more than a year, President Joe Biden’s ability to avoid the coronavirus seemed to defy the odds. When he finally did test positive, the White House was ready. It set out to turn the diagnosis into a “teachable moment” and dispel any notion of a crisis. ... It was a day that began with Biden’s COVID-19 results and included repeated assurances over the coming hours that the president was hard at work while isolating in the residential areas of the White House with “very mild symptoms” including a runny nose, dry cough and fatigue. Biden, in a blazer and Oxford shirt, recorded a video from the White House balcony telling people: “I’m doing well, getting a lot of work done. And, in the meantime, thanks for your concern. And keep the faith. It’s going to be OK.” (Weissert and Megerian, 7/22)

If Biden emerges quickly from his bout with covid-19, it will be a high-profile demonstration of his broader vow: A return to normalcy is possible thanks to vaccines and treatments, despite surging cases and the ongoing pandemic. But if the president should be sick for an extended period or, worse, fall gravely ill, he’ll join many other Americans who have struggled to remain healthy in a world with scant mask-wearing and social distancing, and fuel further criticism that his virus strategy falls short, especially for the most vulnerable. (Diamond, 7/21)

Each subsequent avatar of the virus has become still better at sidestepping immunity. BA.5, which now accounts for nearly 80 percent of cases in the United States, is the most wily yet. Detailed data collected in Qatar suggests that immunity from previous infection and vaccines is weakest against BA.5 compared with its predecessors. BA.5 is also highly contagious. The nation is recording roughly 130,000 cases per day on average; that number is likely to be a huge underestimate, because most people test at home or do not test at all. (Mandavilli, 7/21)

Joe Biden’s age, 79, automatically puts him at greater risk for Covid complications, but infectious disease experts expect the president — who has had two Covid booster vaccines and is in relatively good health otherwise — to recover quickly. (Edwards and Bendix, 7/21)

While Biden's illness does not carry the dire outlook former President Donald Trump faced when he was infected in October, 2020 – before vaccines or treatments – the sitting president's illness brought up comparisons to Trump's handling of the matter. (Milligan, 7/21)

Both men are in their 70s. Both caught COVID-19. And both tested positive while serving in the White House. But, apart from those similarities, the experiences of President Joseph R. Biden and former President Donald J. Trump could not be more different — a contrast that tells the story of the pandemic so far. (Freyer, 7/22)