Magnificent News: Coronavirus Updates: Biden's coronavirus 'rebound'

Important developments in the pandemic.

By Katie Shepherd
with Lena H. Sun

The latest

President Biden tested positive for coronavirus again this weekend and was diagnosed with a "rebound" case, his physician said. The president is feeling well and will continue to work from the Executive Residence at the White House while he continues his isolation, the White House said. Rebound cases – where a person tests positive after recovering from symptoms and testing negative – can occur, especially among people who take the antiviral drug paxlovid, which the president took shortly after he first tested positive.

Biden had previously ended his isolation and removed his mask at some events after testing negative last week. His rebound case highlights the confusion around guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advising people when they should come out of isolation after testing positive for the virus. The CDC recommends people isolate for at least five days after testing positive and wear a mask for 10 days, but does not require a negative test to end isolation.

The president's rebound case and his return to isolation have led others to wonder how they can know that they're no longer contagious after testing positive. My colleagues Lena H. Sun and Joel Achenbach answered some questions about how long patients should isolate and when they can feel good about ending that isolation using the CDC's guidelines and at-home rapid tests.

The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it is accelerating a fall booster campaign to begin in September. The fall booster will be a reformulated vaccine that targets new omicron subvariants that are circulating widely in the United States. The FDA also encouraged people who are eligible for a first or second booster and have not yet had one to get the existing shot now as cases and hospitalizations rise in some parts of the country. People who get a booster this summer will still be eligible for the reformulated omicron-targeting booster this fall, the agency said.

Other important news

D.C.-area health officials recommend high-quality masks, but will not reinstate mandates, as cases rise in the region.

Students 12 and older must get the coronavirus vaccine in order to return to the classroom this fall, because of a vaccine mandate policy that goes further than most other districts.

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Guide to the pandemic

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Guides: Booster shots | Vaccines | Variants | Masks

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Your questions, answered

"My 26-year-old son been living in Beijing for the past three years. He received the standard Sinovac vaccination that is available in China and has not been infected with covid. He will return permanently to the U.S. next month. Should he receive additional vaccines/boosters?" – Elizabeth P., Utah

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone stay up to date with their coronavirus vaccines, including people who received a vaccine outside of the United States. A person is up to date when they have received all doses in the primary series and all recommended boosters, when eligible. Sinovac - a two dose regimen - is one of the accepted coronavirus vaccines. The CDC has a full list of them here.

Based on his age, he should receive a booster if it has been more than four months since he had his last shot, according to Albert Ko, an epidemiologist and infectious-diseases physician at Yale University. The CDC recommends everyone 5 years and older should get one booster after completing their primary series, if eligible. If that's the case for the son, Ko says he should receive a mRNA vaccine, such as Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech.