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Washington (dpa) – In a crisis, the vast majority of Americans expect leadership from their president and well-considered recommendations for action.
His word is particularly important in case of crisis, even for people who have not elected the head of state and reject his policies. But the President of the United States, Donald Trump, initially denied the danger posed by the corona virus for weeks, contrary to what his experts advise. When he could no longer ignore the pandemic, he stood out with pseudo-medical advice, some questionable, others life-threatening.
No panic, we have it under control
Trump wants to be reelected in November. In January and February, he promised his voters growth, jobs and record prices on the stock exchange. Even after the first cases were confirmed, he did not want to know about a crisis: the number of infections “would be zero in a few days,” he said at a press conference. “The risk to the people of the United States remains very low,” he said, despite an urgent warning from the CDC health agency. Instead of making preparations, Trump opted for the all-clear.
There are now more than 1.1 million known infections in the United States, a country with around 330 million inhabitants, corresponding to approximately one in three infections worldwide. More than 65,000 people died as a result of an infection, a number that Trump had issued as a ceiling in mid-April. Now he talks of up to 100,000 dead, and boasts that his government avoided worse.
THIS IS LIKE A FLU
Dear Americans, don’t be afraid, but go on with your normal life so that the economy continues to flourish, that was Trump’s message until the beginning of March. “It’s kind of like the normal flu that we have vaccinations for,” Trump said. There will also be a vaccine for this soon. Although the US government USA Has largely banned entry from China, the country of origin of the pandemic, Trump continued to talk about the threat. The flu also kills thousands each year, but the lives of most Americans are not affected, he said.
Expert warnings that the new pathogen Sars-CoV-2 appears to be much more dangerous than normal flu, and that there may be no vaccine by next year, however, was ignored. The high number of victims speaks for itself. For example, according to a study, from February to mid-April in New York, about 21 times as many people died from Covid-19, a lung disease caused by the virus, who would otherwise die from the flu in the same period. When freezer trucks were used to store the many corpses and mass graves were dug, Trump no longer spoke of the flu, but of a “terrible plague.”
THE PROBLEM WILL BE SOLVED IN THE AIR
The virus will simply go away “like a miracle,” Trump said at the start of the crisis. As soon as the weather has gotten warmer and wetter, the pathogen, like seasonal flu, would simply disappear into thin air, it has held ever since. According to experts, however, there is still no evidence that the coronavirus behaves like the flu in this regard. Furthermore, the virus has already spread to places with warmer and wetter climates, such as Brazil or Singapore.
MALARIA MEDICINE AS A MIRACLE?
In March, Trump campaigned for an antimalarial drug to treat 19 patients on Covid almost every day. Hydroxychloroquine is a “gift from God”, he was excited. The warnings of its experts that the effectiveness of the drug has not been proven in studies and that the use of a drug that has already been approved for another purpose always represents a danger, he ignored. “What do you have to lose?” he asked repeatedly. Combined with the antibiotic azithromycin, the drug “could be one of the greatest advances in the history of medicine,” Trump said. “And if it doesn’t go as planned, it won’t kill anyone,” he said.
Despite expert warnings, the number of prescriptions for the drug in the United States increased 46-fold, according to an analysis by the “New York Times.” Google searches for buying opportunities soared, according to a study. In late April, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned of the alleged miracle cure: There is no evidence of effectiveness against Covid-19, but the drug increased the risk of life-threatening heart arrhythmias. Previously, a study found higher mortality when taking the drug.
ANTIBIOTICS AGAINST VIRUSES?
Trump suggested in early April that researchers need to develop better antibiotics to stop the virus. “The pathogen has become so brilliant that antibiotics can no longer keep up,” Trump said. That is now “one of the biggest problems in the world,” he said. However, antibiotics only work against bacteria, not viruses. Trump’s impression that antibiotics could work against the coronavirus makes no sense. When antibiotics are administered to patients with Covid, the goal is to prevent or treat simultaneous bacterial infections.
MASKS FOR EVERYONE AGAINST VIRUSES, BUT NOT FOR ME
Under pressure from health officials, the United States government has been recommending that people wear everyday masks over their mouths and nose since early April. Trump presented the recommendation at his Corona press conference at the time, and immediately undermined the message. “It is voluntary,” he said. “I decided not to.” His vice microphone Mike Pence also did not wear a mask when visiting a clinic, although this was mandatory.
“Refusing to wear a mask is dangerous and disrespectful,” Craig Spencer, a senior medical officer at Columbia University in New York, said on Twitter. Spencer called for better leadership in the crown crisis: “We do it wrong when politicians act as health experts.”
Bleach or disinfectant as a solution?
In late April, Trump’s pseudo-medical thinking game finally sparked a nationwide protest: The president speculated whether direct injection of chlorine or disinfectant into the body could not be a good coronavirus therapy. It is up to the doctors to verify that, he said. “But I find it interesting,” he said at the White House.
Experts were horrified that a bleach and disinfectant injection or swallow can be deadly. Health agencies across the country have issued warnings. Poison control centers reported an increase in emergency calls related to cleaning agents. The makers of the funds also issued drastic warnings. In the face of outrage, Trump claimed the day after that his proposals were “sarcasm.”
Will there be a second wave of infections in the fall?
Trump is allergic to questions about a second wave of the virus in the fall or winter. The pathogen will soon be “eradicated,” Trump said Wednesday. If there were any individual infections (“embers”), they would get under control quickly. However, his medical adviser, immunologist Anthony Fauci, warned: “We will have coronavirus in the fall, I’m sure.” Due to the easy portability and global nature of the virus, this is “inevitable,” Fauci said. Without vaccination, you cannot return to normal.
