Biden, 80, is healthy, 'fit for duty,' doctor says after physical

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. Doctors declared U.S. President Joe Biden, 80, healthy and "fit for duty" on Thursday after a physical examination that included removing a lesion from his chest and declaring him free of symptoms of long COVID after his bout last year with the virus.

"The president remains fit for duty, and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations," White House physician Kevin O'Connor said in a summary of the health exam.

The exam was closely watched as Biden prepares for his expected run for a second term in 2024. The summary said Biden did not have any "long COVID" symptoms and that his stiff gait has not worsened since his last exam in November 2021.

Biden said his physical went well. "Everything really went well... Thank God for small favors," he told NBC News.

Biden's three-hour session with doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, was his second extensive exam since taking office in January 2021, according to Reuters.

The summary made no mention of whether Biden underwent any cognitive tests sometimes given to people of his age.

Biden, the oldest person ever to serve as U.S. president, has waved off questions about his age, but polls indicate voters have concerns about his ability to serve four more years if he wins in 2024, Reuters reports.

Asked about the concerns over Biden's age, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters: "This is a president that works day in and day out, you know, in a grueling fashion with a grueling schedule, and delivers."