Thread by @drsanjaygupta

After announcing a positive Covid-19 test early Friday morning, President Trump ended the day at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where we are told he’ll remain for “the next few days.” (1/12)

The White House said this was being done out of an “abundance of caution.” We know, however, that he developed progressive symptoms over the day, including a fever and fatigue. Mild symptoms can turn severe quickly, especially in a vulnerable individual. (2/12)

Take the case of Boris Johnson, UK’s Prime Minister. He was diagnosed with Covid-19 back in April. He also only reported mild symptoms at first, but more than a week later was hospitalized, including three nights in the ICU.(3/12)

Notably, before heading to the hospital the president was treated with the highest dose of Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody cocktail. This experimental therapeutic hasn't been authorized or approved by the FDA. Regeneron said he received it under a compassionate use request.(4/12)

This request is normally “intended for patients with serious or life-threatening conditions who do not have any viable or available treatment options, and are unable to participate in ongoing trials.” (5/12)
regeneron.com/sites/default/…

What else do we know about the president’s health? His notable health concerns have been his weight and previous evidence of heart disease. In 2018, his last publicly reported coronary calcium score was 133. (6/12)
cnn.com/2018/01/17/hea…

There was also this unexplained visit to Walter Reed in Nov 2019. (7/12)
cnn.com/2019/11/24/hea…

According to CDC, having a BMI >30 means 3 times the risk of hospitalization. (8/12)
cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

For people in the 65-74 age range, that risk is 5 times higher compared with 18-to 29-year-olds. Men are also at higher risk of serious outcomes. (9/12)
cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

As concerning as all of this sounds, the odds are still very much in the president’s favor: CDC estimates an infection fatality ratio of 5.4% for someone over 70. (10/12)
cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

A source close to the Coronavirus Task Force told me that even they have been “in the dark” about the president’s health despite being world experts on this disease. During this time transparency about the president’s health will be critically important. (11/12)

This is an unsettling time for our nation, but again: the odds are the president and first lady will recover from this disease. We wish them a speedy recovery. (12/12)