I've now watched it x2.
What we know from today's press conference on #TrumpCovid:
- Trump is going back to the White House
- The WH has high-quality care, perhaps as good as at some hospitals [but then why was he ever at Walter Reed?]
- He is still on dexamethasone & remdisivir
What we can deduce:
- His kidney function was not good at one point ("he was dehydrated")
- His lung function is impaired (no answers re CXR/CT scan; received dex; & many of us have seen the "happy hypoxia" of severe #COVID19)
What is mystifying:
- Why they won't tell us the date of the last negative test
- Whether he will actually isolate
- Why he would insist this is no big deal, when it has killed 209,000 Americans & required him to be in the hospital for 3 days
Looking forward to discussing this & more with @AriMelber at 6pm.
* maybe with some real-time commentary on DJT's hospital departure.
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This piece @_HarryPaul_ is a must-read. As we obsess over #TrumpCOVID, it would do us well to take a step back:
"The importance of protecting those with hidden disabilities, such as my restrictive lung disease, who are similarly vulnerable to poor outcomes from #Covid19 get lost"
He warns, re #LongCOVID: "individuals will face additional barriers as they seek accommodation in work, school, and their social lives"
[[editorial NB by me: This will be worse if the #ACA is repealed]]
Additionally, he cautions "Clinicians are not usually accustomed to talking about states of disability for which there is no clear biomedical explanation or treatment plan."
[[editorial NB by me: Esp for women & minorities]]
Based on data from clinical trials in the UK, this suggests that he has about a 23-26% mortality risk, depending on whether he received dexamethasone. nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…
And based on my clinical experience, I and many other physicians across the country are quite concerned.
(Caveat: we haven't examined him. We have however seen lots and lots of patients like him.)
As an ER doc who has been not just treating patients on the frontlines, but also working to get adequate #PPE and public health guidance to people across the country, I know how serious this virus is. I also know that it is possible to prevent its transmission.
Why do you think we created @getusppe? Why do you #healthcare workers took to the airwaves to call for #PPE and universal masking? For fun?
No.
We did it because MASKING WORKS. It reduces infection rates by (depending on the study) 50-90%. wsj.com/articles/face-…
I & many others have been quite worried for months about Trump's risk of infection given his continued flouting of basic public health precautions, by not wearing a mask and not maintaining social distancing. He had every opportunity to stay safe.
I don't know if I don't as "blue checkmark left", @benshapiro. But I do wish Trump & his wife - and all of his staff and supporters who have been exposed due to his lack of mask-wearing - a speedy, uneventful recovery. As an ER doc, I would never wish harm on anyone.
I wish that he would act to prevent harm to others, though. A president has the power to mobilize & fund our #publichealth infrastructure.
We didn't have to be where we are today. Although many Americans are unable to avoid infection, he had every potential protexn in the world
My heart hurts for the 7+ million people in our country who have already - unnecessarily - been infected; the 200,000+ who have died; the 1000s of healthcare workers who have been infected at work; those who've lost jobs; all the sickness yet to come, UNLESS WE DO THE RIGHT THING
I started doing this work because people told me it couldn't be done. "Firearm injury prevention was pointless" or "partisan" or not fundable. Thanks to the Dickey Amendment, the CDC hadn't funded firearm injury research since *1996*.