White House: Biden to get annual medical checkup ‘later this year’

President Biden plans to have his annual physical exam “later this year” and will make the results publicly available, the White House said Tuesday, in accordance with typical practice.

“The President is planning to have a checkup later this year, and the results will be released to the public,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement that was first reported by The Washington Post.

The White House did not provide specific information about when the doctor’s appointment would be scheduled.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Friday that she wasn’t aware of a medical appointment scheduled for Biden but pledged to provide reporters with “information in a transparent way when it is scheduled, and once he has that appointment.”

At 78, Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history. Biden last released a medical assessment, completed by his physician, Kevin O’Connor, in December 2019 during the presidential campaign.

That report described Biden as a “healthy, vigorous, 77-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.” It also said Biden had an irregular heartbeat but that the condition did not require any medication or treatment. At the time, Biden was taking a blood thinner.

After he took office, Biden replaced former President Trump’s White House physician, Sean Conley, with O’Connor, his longtime physician.

The White House is likely to face pressure to share more information about Biden’s health after Conley repeatedly dodged questions about Trump’s health during news conferences when he received treatment for COVID-19 last year.

Trump also made an unannounced trip to Walter Reed Military Medical Center in November 2019 that fueled questions about his health. Trump’s last physical assessment summary was released in June, saying he was in good health.

Biden visited an orthopedist in November after his aides said he slipped while playing with one of his dogs. The doctor found that Biden had hairline fractures in his right foot that required him to wear a boot. After a follow-up X-ray in February, O’Connor said the foot had healed.