Trump Has COVID megathread (update 10/24: 2 Pence staffers test positive)

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/ccadelago/status/1312021469052928004

THANK GOD.

Just waiting on a similar result for Biden.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/jesserodriguez/status/1312024463848935426?s=21
Having symptoms already puts him in 20% worst cases range.

Just a general reminder that you never experience severe symptoms right away with COVID.

You have around a week of mild symptoms, then either get better, or a lot worse (pneumonia etc).

This ain't good news for the President.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/jesserodriguez/status/1312024463848935426?s=21
Having symptoms already puts him in 20% worst cases range.

Just a general reminder that you never experience severe symptoms right away with COVID.

You have around a week of mild symptoms, then either get better, or a lot worse (pneumonia etc).

This ain't good news for the President.

Mine started as mild symptoms (that I attributed to a summer cold), but they ramped up when I awoke with a fever.  

I should definitely defer to you here, as both a medical specialist, and one with first hand experience. I'm more of a lab and theory guy (if they ever let us back into the lab...)

[Torrain]

Biden is still waiting for his test results, per the AP:

11:10 a.m.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has been tested for the coronavirus in the wake of President Donald Trump’s infection and is awaiting results.

That’s according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal discussions.

Biden was on the debate stage with Trump for more than 90 minutes earlier in the week.

It’s unclear if Biden will appear at his scheduled campaign events later in the day. The Democrat’s campaign is expected to announce the results of Biden’s test and his travel plans later Friday.

https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-donald-trump-seniors-melania-trump-archive-a70acfe14728e061ff93be93314cff88

[Torrain]

ACB is negative, for all you wishing it on her

That's good to hear. Nobody here is wishing COVID on ACB.

If you want to wring your hands about Supreme Court civility, take a look at McConnell and Trump, who were celebrating the chance to fill a Court seat within hours of RBG's death.

[Torrain]

Hmmm...

https://twitter.com/sarahcwestwood/status/1312068116193701895

This feels like a missed opportunity, or just possibly a bad sign. Showing up would have been a good way to assuage concerns about his condition, and possibly even empathising with other seniors struggling with the disease.

[Torrain]

ACB is negative, for all you wishing it on her

That's physically nauseating. Garrison just keeps finding new depths to plumb.

[Torrain]

Trump hasn't tweeted since the announcement that he tested positive. I imagine he's had a  rough day, but it's always odd to see these long silent stretches from the President.

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The creepiest days are when you don’t hear from the horse at all.

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I've been watching Marine One landing on the White House Lawn, live on CNN.

It's chilling to watch history unfold in front of us.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/1312154785974378497

Trump at least was able to walk to Marine One unaided, which was a good sign, I guess.
Concerning that he needs to fly there though.

[Torrain]

What a world, when "the president walks under his own power" is a news story.

Would have been big news in 1941.

[Torrain]

He looks a little off-colour, (weird posture, less forceful vocal delivery than usual), but the thing is, it's very hard to deduce from 15 seconds of video. That's probably the point though, they knew he could do at least 3-4 sentences worth of content.

The real question is what happened when they turned the cameras off, and that's where the ambiguity is.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/1312178864177569792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwca...

[Torrain]

Seems like they're pumping Trump full with any drug they have at Walter Reed as a preventive measure (except hydroxychloroquine, because that could kill him).

So, I suppose he's probably gonna make it.

In theory...

The problem is that we don't actually have much evidence about which of these treatments are actually effective against COVID-19. They're just throwing everything against the wall, to see what sticks.

Remesdivir has been associated with mild-moderate kidney damage in some patients, and in my experience with scientific and medical ethics, you don't give someone a potentially dangerous treatment unless withholding the treatment will lead to a significantly worse outcome.

I'd wager things are pretty touch and go right now. Statistically he's got good odds if he's in similar condition a week from now, but if he goes onto a ventilator, we could be looking at a far darker scenario.

[Torrain]

Seems like they're pumping Trump full with any drug they have at Walter Reed as a preventive measure (except hydroxychloroquine, because that could kill him).

So, I suppose he's probably gonna make it.

In theory...

The problem is that we don't actually have much evidence about which of these treatments are actually effective against COVID-19. They're just throwing everything against the wall, to see what sticks.

Remesdivir has been associated with mild-moderate kidney damage in some patients, and in my experience with scientific and medical ethics, you don't give someone a potentially dangerous treatment unless withholding the treatment will lead to a significantly worse outcome.

I'd wager things are pretty touch and go right now. Statistically he's got good odds if he's in similar condition a week from now, but if he goes onto a ventilator, we could be looking at a far darker scenario.

Well, based on that medical article from The Atlantic someone posted here yesterday, Donald Trump would normally have almost a 20% chance of dying given his age and body mass index. Maybe they decided a nominal fatality rate of 20% justifies risking kidney damage.

In addition, there were those reports that Trump started to panick yesterday after developing mild symptoms so maybe he's eager to agree to (push his doctors for?) any treatment at this point.

I mean there was this episode earlier this year were he reportedly took hydroxychloroquine for a while on his own initiatve despite having had no COVID infection at all. So maybe he insisted on getting hydroxychloroquine shots now as well and the doctors managed to negotiate him down to a antibiotics cocktail and remdesivir, because that at least could help him.

That’s fair. If the risk of death was 20%, that would provide the opportunity to cut a lot of red tape. And yeah, I could see these treatments being a negotiation down from something a lot less sensible that Trump was pushing for.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1312379172640239617

Reminder that GOP Senators still meet in person on the regular.

It's the same thing that led to that outbreak early in the summer that infected a number of GOP Senators.

TBH, its a miracle that none of the Senate's octogenarians have been infected yet, but I fear its only a matter of time, especially if Mitch keeps pushing them to gather in a small, poorly ventilated chamber to vet ACB next week.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/JonLemire/status/1312436585007251457

The Boris Johnson parallels continue.

Once Johnson was hospitalised, the government kept trying to downplay his condition, but within a few days were forced to confirm that he was receiving supplementary O2.

They framed it as a good sign that he didn't need to be fully ventilated, which I imagine will be the Press Secretary's spin for Trump by tomorrow morning.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/Bencjacobs/status/1312447875599663104

So, the White House's timeline makes no sense.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/JonLemire/status/1312436585007251457

The Boris Johnson parallels continue.

Once Johnson was hospitalised, the government kept trying to downplay his condition, but within a few days were forced to confirm that he was receiving supplementary O2.

They framed it as a good sign that he didn't need to be fully ventilated, which I imagine will be the Press Secretary's spin for Trump by tomorrow morning.

Johnson got a poll bump :/

Johnson's poll bump was already happening before he got ill, and was mostly personal. His party on the other hand have been losing ground since May, now down to a tie in most polls.

The stimulus cash kept their popularity afloat, but as that ran out, so did the public's goodwill.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/stephenfhayes/status/1312439402920960002

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1312763676726886401

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1312763676726886401

I said the other night that it appears that Trump's condition is improving, but as you've noted, his case could regress at any time. That we have this level of uncertainty ought to be concerning by itself.

Aye, absolutely. This level of obfuscation is hugely counterproductive. It leaves the public uninformed and scared, but also reduces trust in the administration itself. Nobody wins.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1312784938467553280

So Trump's on dexamethasone? Just going to drop this right here:

https://twitter.com/Craig_A_Spencer/status/1312784007424282630

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1312784938467553280

So Trump's on dexamethasone? Just going to drop this right here:

https://twitter.com/Craig_A_Spencer/status/1312784007424282630

Also, to back up my dexamethasone point:

Dexamethasone treatment is recommended by the National Health Service in the UK and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US for patients with COVID-19 who are mechanically ventilated or who require supplemental oxygen but are not mechanically ventilated.[21][22] Dexamethasone is not recommended in patients with COVID-19 who do not require supplemental oxygen or hospitalization.[21][22][23]

I don't think Trump's being ventilated, but it sure seems like he still needs supplementary O₂