[ad_1]
US President Donald Trump went through a “very worrying” period on Friday and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his attention as he fights the coronavirus, said White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
The comments came after it was revealed that Trump was given supplemental oxygen Friday morning at the White House before being transferred to a military hospital, though staff insisted he had only mild symptoms.
Trump’s doctors, for their part, painted an upbeat picture of the president’s health during a press conference at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
But the report from Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley and other doctors raised more questions than it answered.
Dr. Conley left the question of whether the president needed supplemental oxygen and declined to discuss exactly when he got sick.
The president’s doctor also revealed that Trump began displaying “clinical indications” for Covid-19 on Thursday afternoon, earlier than previously known.
According to a person familiar with Trump’s condition, the president was administered oxygen at the White House on Friday before being transferred to the military hospital.
Dr. Conley, updating the nation on Walter Reed’s president’s condition Saturday afternoon, said Trump had been fever-free for 24 hours.
While Dr. Conley said that the president was not taking oxygen at the time, he declined to say whether the president had ever taken oxygen, despite repeated questioning.
“Thursday without oxygen. None at this time. And yesterday with the team, while we were all here, he was not on oxygen, ”Dr. Conley said.
He said Trump’s symptoms, including coughing and nasal congestion, “are now resolving and improving.”
The doctors, nurses and EVERYONE at the GREAT Walter Reed Medical Center, and others from equally amazing institutions that have joined them, are AMAZING !!! Tremendous progress has been made in the last 6 months in the fight against this PLAGUE. With your help, I feel good!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2020
“He’s in a really good mood,” said another doctor, Sean Dooley.
The president tweeted shortly after the press conference, thanking the medical staff.
Trump is 74 years old and clinically obese, putting him at higher risk for serious complications from a virus that has infected more than seven million people nationwide and killed more than 200,000 in the United States.
The administration has been consistently less than transparent about the president’s health as the virus spreads within the White House.
The attendees declined to share basic information about the president’s health, including a full description of his symptoms, the tests he has performed and the results.
The first word that a close associate of Trump had been infected came from the media, not the White House.
In a memo posted Friday night, Dr. Conley reported that Trump had been treated in the hospital with remdesivir, an antiviral drug, after taking another experimental drug at the White House.
Dr. Sean Conley, President Donald Trump’s physician, briefs journalists from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (Susan Walsh / AP) “>He added that Trump “is doing very well” and “does not need supplemental oxygen.”
Dr. Conley declined to say when Trump was last tested before it was confirmed he had Covid-19 late Thursday.
It initially suggested that Trump had 72 hours left to diagnose, putting confirmation of the infection at Wednesday.
Dr. Conley later clarified that Trump was administered an accurate test for the virus Thursday afternoon, after White House aide Hope Hicks was confirmed to be positive and Trump exhibited “clinical indications.” unspecified virus.
The White House said Trump was expected to stay in the hospital for “a few days” and that he would continue to work from the hospital’s presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to fulfill his official duties.
In addition to accessibility to tests and equipment, the decision was made, at least in part, on the understanding that transferring him to the hospital later, if he got worse, could send a worrisome signal.
On Saturday, Dr. Conley said Trump’s blood oxygen level was 96%, which is in the normal range.
The two experimental drugs he has received, administered intravenously, have shown some promise against Covid-19.
On Friday, he was given a single dose of a drug Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is testing to deliver antibodies that help his immune system fight the virus.
On Friday night, he began a five-day course of remdesivir, a Gilead Sciences drug currently used for patients with moderate and severe illnesses.
Medications work in different ways: Antibodies help the immune system remove the virus from the body, and remdesivir slows the virus’ ability to multiply.
“We are maximizing all aspects of your care,” attacking the virus in multiple ways, Dr. Conley said.
“He didn’t want to withhold anything if there was any chance that he would add value to his care.”
[ad_2]