PA
Washington – Clinton is being treated for an infection unrelated to Covid.
Former President Bill Clinton was admitted to a Southern California hospital on Tuesday with an infection, but is “on the mend,” his spokesperson said Thursday.
Clinton, 75, was admitted to University of California Irvine Medical Center on Tuesday evening with an infection unrelated to Covid, Angel Urena said in a statement.
“He is on the mend, in good spirits and is incredibly grateful to the doctors, nurses and staff who provide him with excellent care,” the statement said.
A second statement from Clinton’s spokesperson quoted doctors Dr Alpesh Amin and Dr Lisa Bardack as saying the former president had “received antibiotics and IV fluids”.
“After two days of treatment, his white blood cell count tends to drop and he responds well to antibiotics,” the doctors said. “The California-based medical team is in constant communication with the President’s New York-based medical team, including his cardiologist. We hope he will return home soon.
Since Clinton left the White House in 2001, the former president has faced health challenges. In 2004, he underwent quadruple bypass surgery after experiencing prolonged chest pain and shortness of breath. He returned to the hospital for surgery for a partially collapsed lung in 2005, and in 2010 a pair of stents were implanted in a coronary artery.
He responded by adopting a largely vegan diet which has helped him lose weight and improve his health.
He has returned to the stump several times, campaigning for Democratic candidates, including his wife, Hillary, during his failed 2008 presidential nomination. And in 2016, as his wife sought out the White House as a Democratic candidate, Clinton – then a grandfather and nearly 70 – returned to the electoral trail.
The UCI Medical Center is in Orange County, approximately 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles. It was not immediately clear why Clinton was in Southern California.
