Reactions: Experts alarmed by Trump treatment plan normally used only for the severely ill
A second briefing on Donald Trump's medical condition after he was flown to Walter Reed for treatment of COVID-19 was held Sunday morning, and was not much more revealing than the first.
We did get some new information. First, that Trump has had at least two episodes of hypoxia, or low blood oxygen, which required oxygen administration. And White House doctor Sean Conley stated that Trump was now taking not just remdesivir and a Regeneron-developed monoclonal antibody "cocktail," but dexamethasone, a steroid recommended only for the most serious COVID-19 cases. That and other elements of Conley's description of Trump's condition were alarming, to expert observers, because they suggest Trump's current status is considerably more serious than either Conley or the White House has claimed.
It's possible that Trump's doctors are, perhaps irresponsibly, unnecessarily dosing Trump with potentially dangerous drugs on his own demand, in hopes that something in the mix will allow him to recover faster than most patients with his symptoms. But it hardly seems likely.
Some reactions and threads, from experts and others:
What's it all mean? We don't know, but it's not good. Trump's doctors seem to be hiding the true severity of Trump's condition—or, far less likely, are overmedicating him for unknown reasons. Because this White House has relentlessly lied about even the smallest trivialities, over the last four years, we can't take anything said now at face value. Most or all of it is false. The treatment plan as announced, however, doesn't mesh with the rosy claims being made about Trump's current condition.
