Former President Barack Obama tests positive for COVID-19

"Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted," he wrote.

Published: March 13, 2022 3:55pm

Updated: March 13, 2022 4:30pm

Former President Barack Obama has tested positive for COVID-19, despite being vaccinated and receiving a booster, according to a Sunday statement from his official Twitter account.

"I’ve had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise," he wrote.

His wife, Michelle, tested negative for COVID-19, the statement read.

"Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted, and she has tested negative," he added, before calling his diagnosis "a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, even as cases go down."

The overall COVID-19 case count in the United States has been going down and 81.5% of people in America over the age of 5 have received at least one vaccination, according to the CDC. The current 7-day average for COVID-19 cases is less than 35,000 and marks a sharp decline from January's 7-day average high of over 800,000 cases.

Obama is the second U.S. president to announce his COVID-19 diagnosis after then-President Donald Trump tested positive for the virus in October 2020.