Trump Given Experimental Antibody Drug to Prevent Serious Illness From COVID-19 Infection
President Donald Trump was given experimental drug Regeneron, an antibody treatment to boost his immune system and decrease the risk of developing severe illness from COVID-19 infection.
Dr. Leonard Schleifer, the CEO of biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., said Trump is in a higher risk group for many reasons, and they hoped to give his immune system a boost so he can win this and make a complete recovery.
The drug has been said to have the most promising approaches in preventing severe illnesses that a person could suffer from having a COVID-19 infection.
Early this week, Regeneron said partial results from about 275 COVID-19 patients sick enough to need hospitalization suggested it might cut how long symptoms last and help reduce the amount of virus patients harbor.
However, the drug has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as it is in the late-stage testing, and its safety and effectiveness are not yet known. There has been no treatment proven yet to be able to prevent serious illness from a COVID-19 infection.
Trump was given a single dose through an IV on Friday before he left for the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for monitoring.
He was administered with the drug at the request of his physician, Dr. Sean Conley, who said that so far, the President has only exhibited mild symptoms, including fatigue.
At the military hospital, Conley said the President was given remdesivir. The antiviral drug is said to speed up recovery in some COVID-19 patients. He has also been taking zinc, vitamin D, the antacid famotidine, melatonin and aspirin, said Conley.
According to Conley, he had recommended for Trump to go to the military hospital following consultations with specialists from Walter Reed and Johns Hopkins University.
Being 74 years old, Trump is at a greater risk of complications from COVID-19 considering also his sex and that he is clinically obese.
The President though is still in charge and said that he would be working from the military hospital. He has also not transferred power to Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump has posted a short video on Twitter, wherein he thanked everybody for their tremendous support. He also assured the public that he is doing very well. He added that they will make sure to make things work out and that the first lady is doing well.
Melania Trump, who also tested positive, has remained at the White House with just a mild cough and a headache.
It is unclear when the Trumps were first exposed to the virus and for how long they have been contagious. However, some officials, who were in frequent contact with Trump recently, also tested positive for COVID-19.
They were former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, campaign manager Bill Stepien, senior adviser Hope Hicks, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Senator Mike Lee of Utah and John Jenkins, President of Notre Dame University.
All of them attended Trump's Supreme Court nomination announcement of appellate judge Amy Coney Barrett last weekend at the Rose Garden of the White House.
Barrett and her husband were said to have contracted COVID-19 during the summer and have already recovered.
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