- President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, the White House said.
- Just 12.5 million US adults older than 65 years old — his age bracket — are double-boosted like he is.
- The CDC said that figure is 22.7% of the population in his age bracket.
President Joe Biden — who is fully boosted and vaccinated — tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, becoming the second US president to get infected by the virus.
And as the country sees a steady rise in daily new COVID-19 infections, just 22.7% of Americans in his age bracket have kept up to date with their vaccination shots, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Biden, who is 79 years old, falls under the "65+ Years" category — which the CDC says consists of nearly 55 million Americans. Of that population, just 12.5 million have received their second booster shot.
In a Thursday statement, the White House said Biden has begun taking the treatment drug Paxlovid.
US health officials have continued to stress the importance of staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations as the country battles a rise in cases fueled by the infectious Omicron subvariant BA. 5, which infectious disease experts say can reinfect those who already had COVID-19.
The country is averaging over 126,000 daily new COVID-19 cases, according to CDC data, a steady rise from a recent low of 24,000 daily new cases in late March.
The March lull came after the country saw record infections from the original Omicron variant during the winter months.