(NewsNation) — An infectious disease specialist says President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 diagnosis needs to be taken “very seriously.” 

Dr. Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins University told “NewsNation Now” that despite being vaccinated and boosted, the 81-year-old Biden fits into the demographic of people that tend to be hospitalized or die from COVID-19. 

“It will be very important to monitor his symptoms to make sure that he doesn’t have a bad bout with it,” Adalja said. “The fact is, though, that he’s had a couple bouts with this already, it’s unlikely that he’s going to have a severe case, but you have to be prepared for that.”

Adalja also said that high-risk people should avoid crowded indoor places, especially with the new variants. 

“We’re kind of at a new normal with it, but it’s still going to kill tens of thousands of people,” Adalja said.