By EFE
09 Jul 2024, 07:30 AM EDT
Washington – White House physician Kevin O’Connor insisted Monday that President Joe Biden has not been treated for Parkinson’s, amid a controversy over repeated visits by an expert on the disease to the president’s residence.
In a letter released Monday by the Biden administration, the doctor said that neurologist Kevin Cannard has been working for the government since 2012 and that the specialist was in charge of examining Biden as part of his annual checkup.
Dr. Cannard has been examining patients at the White House for 12 years
“Biden has not seen a neurologist outside” of these annual exams, the letter noted. “Seeing patients at the White House is something Dr. Cannard has done for 12 years.”
Biden’s health is under public scrutiny following his presidential debate with former President Donald Trump on June 27.
The president had trouble following the thread of the conversation on several occasions and sounded weak.
Doctor is a specialist in movement problems such as Parkinson’s
Several American media outlets, including The New York Times, reported on Monday that Cannard has visited the White House eight times in the past eight months.
However, it remains unclear whether these visits were related to the president’s health or another issue.
The doctor specializes in movement problems, and recently published an article on Parkinson’s.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre revealed that the US president undergoes a verbal medical check-up twice a week and stressed that he has not undergone a physical examination since the debate.
On July 3, the spokeswoman said the president had not had a physical since February, but two days later Biden said in an interview on ABC that his doctors tested him for infections and that the results came back negative.
Faced with this apparent contradiction, journalists on Monday demanded transparency from the spokesperson regarding the type of controls carried out on her.
Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden has been seen by a neurologist three times during his three years in office and said he is not being treated for Parkinson’s nor is he taking medication for the disease.
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