Trump Could Be Discharged Today; Treatments Suggest Severe Case Of COVID
Few and sometimes contradictory details about President Donald Trump's health have been made public, despite press briefings from his doctors who say they are encouraged by his progress. Information that has been provided -- such as dropping blood oxygen levels and aggressive treatments that include experimental drugs -- hint that the president has been seriously sick.
The New York Times:
Trump’s Treatment Suggests Severe Covid-19, Medical Experts Say
President Trump’s doctors offered rosy assessments of his condition on Sunday, but the few medical details they disclosed — including his fluctuating oxygen levels and a decision to begin treatment with a steroid drug — suggested to many infectious disease experts that he is suffering a more severe case of Covid-19 than the physicians acknowledged. In photos and videos released by the White House, there is hardly any sign that Mr. Trump is sick. But at a news conference at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Mr. Trump’s doctors said his oxygen levels had dropped to a level that can indicate that a patient's lungs are compromised. The symptom is seen in many patients with severe Covid-19. (Thomas and Caryn Rabin, 10/4)
Politico:
Trump's Medical Team Briefing Reveals Things Are Worse Than We Knew
President Donald Trump’s doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center revealed Sunday that the president’s condition is more serious than the White House has so far acknowledged. “I didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction,” Sean Conley, the president’s physician, told reporters during a hospital briefing. “In doing so, it came off that we were trying to hide something, which wasn’t necessarily true.” (Morello, Lim and Kenen, 10/4)
Politico:
Trump Team Under Fire For Confusion About President’s Condition
The White House took flak throughout the weekend over its mixed messaging on President Donald Trump’s health. That blowback continued into Sunday evening because of a lack of any messaging or information before the president briefly departed Walter Reed Medical Center in a motorcade. Trump, a 74-year-old, overweight patient who has been hospitalized with Covid-19 since Friday, surprised supporters — and the reporters who track his movement — by waving to a crowd of cheering well-wishers as his motorcade drove past the hospital. (McCaskill, 10/4)
The Washington Post:
President’s Blood Oxygen Levels Dropped Twice In Recent Days, Doctors Say
President Trump’s condition has “improved,” according to White House physician Sean Conley, but the president experienced significant oxygen drops on Friday and Saturday and was given dexamethasone — a steroid that is typically reserved only for severely ill coronavirus patients. Trump’s doctors said he has had no fever since Friday morning, however, and could be discharged as early as Monday. Conley declined to answer questions about the president’s lungs, including whether there is scarring or whether Trump has pneumonia. (Hawkins, Sonmez, Kim and Knowles, 10/4)
The Washington Post:
Prospect Of Trump’s Early Hospital Discharge Mystifies Doctors
The assertion by President Trump’s doctors that he could be discharged from the hospital as early as Monday astonished outside infectious-disease experts, who said he remains in a dangerous period of vulnerability when some covid-19 patients decline precipitously and require urgent intervention. During a midday briefing Sunday on the president’s medical condition and treatment, White House physician Sean Conley and his team twice referred to planning to release Trump as early as the next day “if he continues to look and feel as well as he does today.” (Eunjung Cha and Goldstein, 10/4)
The Hill:
What We Know And Don't Know About The President's Health
President Trump remains hospitalized with the coronavirus but, despite daily medical briefings, much about the president's health continues to be unclear. Officials have given at times conflicting answers, and the president’s doctor, Sean Conley, has not answered a number of questions at his press conferences, acknowledging Sunday that he left the impression the day before he was “trying to hide something.” Thus far, it's not apparent just how severe the president's case of COVID-19 is. (Sullivan, 10/4)
Also —
The Hill:
Trump Says He 'Learned A Lot' About Coronavirus During Treatment: 'This Is The Real School'
President Trump on Sunday said he has "learned a lot" about COVID-19 since his diagnosis, calling his time undergoing treatment the "real school" for the highly contagious virus that has infected more than 7.4 million people in the U.S. "It’s been a very interesting journey. I learned a lot about COVID. I learned it by really going to school. This is the real school. This isn't the 'let's read the books' school," Trump said in a video posted to Twitter. "And I get it, and I understand it, and it's a very interesting thing, and I’m going to be letting you know about it." (Klar, 10/4)
