Trump was 'sicker than acknowledged" with COVID-19

Washington [US], February 12 : Former US President Donald Trump was "sicker than publicly acknowledged" with COVID-19 when he tested positive for the disease in October last year.
According to a report from The New York Times (NYT), Trump experienced extremely depressed blood oxygen levels at one point and a lung problem associated with pneumonia caused by the coronavirus, according to four people familiar with his condition. It was also reported that his condition "was so poor" before he was taken to Walter Reed National Military Centre from the White House officials believing that "he may need to be put on a ventilator".
The people familiar with the former President's health said that "he was found to have lung infiltrates, which occur when the lungs are inflamed and contain substances such as fluid or bacteria. Their presence, especially when a patient is exhibiting other symptoms, can be a sign of an acute case of the disease. They can be easily spotted on an X-ray or scan when parts of the lungs appear opaque, or white."
His blood oxygen level "was cause for extreme concern, dipping into the 80s", according to the people familiar with his evaluation. The disease is considered severe when the blood oxygen level falls to the low 90s.
"Trump had trouble breathing and a fever on October 2, the day he was taken to the hospital, and the types of treatment he received indicated that his condition was serious," NYT reported.
Trump's medical team at Walter Reed downplayed the severity of the situation when he was at the hospital.
"At 74 and overweight, he was at risk for severe disease and was prescribed an aggressive course of treatments. He left the hospital after three days in which he at one point staged a brief ride in his armoured sport-utility vehicle to wave at the crowd of supporters outside the building," NYT reported further.
Trump's physician, Dr Sean Conley, "repeatedly downplayed" concerns about the former President's condition during his illness. He also told reporters that while Mr. Trump's oxygen level had dropped to 93 percent, it had never dropped to the "low 80s."
Trump had trouble breathing at the White House and was twice given oxygen before being taken to Walter Reed.
While still at the White House, Trump received a drug developed by the biotechnology firm Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. The antibody cocktail -- not widely available at the time -- helps people infected with the virus "fight it off".
After Trump was hospitalised, he began a regimen for a steroid, dexamethasone, which is usually recommended only for Covid-19 patients who have severe or critical forms of the disease -- often for those who need mechanical ventilation. He received a five-day course of the antiviral drug remdesivir. Medical experts at the time believed that his medication course was a clear signal of significant issues related to his lungs, as reported by The New York Times.
On Sunday, October 4, Conley acknowledged that he had given a 'rosy version' of the former President's condition.
"I was trying to reflect the upbeat attitude that the team, the president, his course of illness has had," he said as quoted by NYT. "I didn't want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction, and in doing so, you know, it came off that we were trying to hide something, which wasn't necessarily true."
Trump appeared to still be struggling with the disease when he returned to the White House, where he stationed himself on a balcony in a "choreographed scene", tearing his mask off and saluting his helicopter.
Doctors at the time noted how Trump used his neck muscles to help him breathe in those moments, a classic sign that someone's lungs are not taking in enough oxygen.
CNN reported that as for the former first lady Melania Trump's condition, someone familiar with her treatment said she never took the then-experimental Regeneron antibody therapy used to treat her husband.
This person said it took "a very, very long time" for her to get better, but she insisted on letting the virus run its course and treated her symptoms with holistic medicines, such as herbal teas, and "took nothing stronger than over-the-counter pain relievers."