President Donald Trump removes his mask as he stands on the balcony outside of the Blue Room as returns to the White House
Credit: AP
Mr Trump, 74, has been put on a powerful, experimental cocktail of drugs, including steroid dexamethasone, monoclonal antibody Regeneron, and Remdesivir.
The medication, REGN-COV2, is still undergoing a clinical trial, with the first data from 275 non-hospitalised patients showing that "it reduced viral load and the time to alleviate symptoms," according to the company.
“I see that Trump is triumphantly leaving the hospital and telling people not to be afraid, telling them that it’s no big deal and that the treatments that he’s developed are helping people,” said Rob Davidson, an emergency doctor from Michigan and executive director of the Committee to Protect Medicare and Affordable Care.
“We gave some of our patients those treatments but only one has been convincingly proven to help people leave hospital early and that’s dexamethasone,” he said.
President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he walks out of Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland
Credit: AFP
“Remdisivir, monoclonal antibodies and convalescent plasma have not been conclusively proven to provide any benefit, he knows that, his doctor knows that. The reality is for a man his age who is obese, the risk of dying of Covid-19 is 10 per cent, maybe now 5 per cent. Any disease that carries a 5-10 per cent risk of death is a massive concern.”
Dr Davidson said that while statistically it was likely that Mr Trump would make a recovery at the White House, he was worried he would “use that as a message to America that this is no big deal.”
“He wants people to come out and take on this virus like big tough guys, but the reality is it will cut you down — it doesn’t care who you are. Please, wear a mask and listen to the public experts, do not listen to Donald Trump.”
After a long ER shift where nearly half my patients had alarming #COVID19 signs and symptoms (chest pain, shortness of breath, vomiting, high fevers, hypoxia) this is how it feels to see the president triumphantly declare the virus to be no big deal: pic.twitter.com/hN9NqJQ3Yu
— Dr. Rob Davidson #WearAMask (@DrRobDavidson) October 5, 2020
Dr Ankur Dave, an infectious disease expert from Illinois, pointed out that Remdesivir was in fact developed under Barack Obama’s administration, in 2009.
“You didn’t develop it,” Dr Dave replied to Mr Trump on Twitter. “It’s $3,000 a dose with limited availability and most people don’t have access to 10 plus doctors 24/7.
“So yes, we should be afraid of Covid, just as we should be afraid of you.”
Lab technicians load filled vials of investigational Remdesivir at a Gilead Sciences facility in La Verne, California
Credit: Reuters
Remdesivir’s efficacy is still unclear. While Mr Trump appeared to be in much better shape than he had been on Friday, when he was recording a high fever and dangerously low blood oxygen levels, it was not apparent just how ill he had been.
“We know neutralising antibodies is one of the best protections against disease, but we don’t actually know how sick he was and how much the drug played a part,” said Dr Hotez. “We’re all left scratching our heads.”
Dr Sean Conley, Mr Trump’s doctor, warned the commander-in-chief was not yet out of the woods and that they were in “unchartered territory when it comes to a patient that received the therapies he has so early in the course.”
From his team of more than a dozen doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, to his helicopter Medivac, to the experimental drug that fewer than 10 others have received outside a clinical trial under the “compassionate use” program, Mr Trump has access to care available to few others infected so far by the coronavirus.
More than seven million Americans have tested positive for Covid-19 since the start of the outbreak in March, and some 210,000 have died. Many have not sought treatment, fearing the cost.
Dr. Sean Conley, the White House physician, talks about President Trump's health after he was hospitalized for coronavirus disease
Credit: Reuters
The special medical treatment often provided the rich and powerful in one of the most medically advanced countries in the world “reflects the inherent inequities in our health-care system,” said Jeanne Marrazzo, an infectious disease expert at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.
“We know that VIPs get extraordinary care — our healthcare system already distinguishes between people deemed worthy of the highest level of care, and that is the fact and the reality in our society.”
Relatives of some of those who had lost their lives replied to Mr Trump’s tweet on Monday.
“Don’t be afraid!?! Is THAT how my family should feel after losing FIVE people we deeply care about!?!?” wrote Daniel Smith, Jr. “ How dare you! We would have given anything if they could have recv’d the same medical treatment as YOU got! Maybe THEY could have taken a joy ride too!? How dare you!”
While Katie Jacobs Stanton, from San Francisco, tweeted that it was “great news” the president was making a recovery, “I would tell my dad, but he died of COVID 6 months ago.”
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