Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump's COVID-19 Tests Now Negative, Doctor Says
Politico: White House Physician Says Trump Has Tested Negative For Covid, Is No Longer Infectious
President Donald Trump has tested negative for Covid-19 on consecutive days and is not infectious to others, his physician said on Monday. Antigen tests from Abbott were used, along with laboratory data that included viral load, to determine that the president would not be able to spread the coronavirus to others, Sean Conley said in a memo to White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. (Kim, 10/12)
The Washington Post: Trump Returns To Campaign Trail After Bout With Covid-19 As Biden Seeks To Make Handling Of Pandemic An Issue
Though Trump has declared himself now “immune” to the virus — which has killed more than 214,000 Americans and infiltrated the White House — he and his team have not clarified for the public the last time he tested negative before his covid-19 diagnosis was announced Oct. 2. This has raised questions about whom Trump may have infected before isolating himself at the White House and then at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. On Monday afternoon, however, Trump’s doctor, Sean P. Conley, said in a memo released by the White House that the president had tested negative for the virus “on consecutive days,” using the Abbott rapid testing machine, and was no longer contagious. (Parker, Dawsey, Sullivan and Olorunnipa, 10/12)
The Hill: Trump Tests Negative For COVID-19 On Consecutive Days, Doctor Says
Antigen tests are commonly used in the White House, though they are less sensitive than molecular tests, such as the PCR test. For example, the Food and Drug Administration notes on its website that antigen tests are "more likely to miss an active coronavirus infection compared to molecular tests." The president was said to have tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 1 with an antigen test and then received a PCR test to confirm the result. (Samuels, 10/12)
