Trump tweets that he’s leaving the hospital today and that we shouldn’t “be afraid of Covid”.
(Observation: Not one of the drugs the President has been reported taking to combat his infection with COVID-19 was developed “under the Trump administration”. Any knowledge about COVID-19 was garnered despite the Trump Administration’s well-publicized efforts to ignore, downplay, or sideline the COVID-19 outbreak.)
I’m betting the side-effects of that steroid he’s taking have really kicked in.
Dexamethasone side effects include:
- Aggression.
- agitation.
- anxiety.
- mental depression.
- mood changes.
- trouble thinking and/or speaking.
The New York Times has some coverage of the medical briefing that was supposed to take place this morning:
In the morning, the White House shuttled reporters to Walter Reed, where a briefing lectern had been placed, raising speculation about another update from Mr. Trump’s medical team. But the lectern remained covered with a garbage bag through lunchtime.
The New York Times has updated its coverage of Trump’s intended return to the White House with some interesting information about one of the medications he’s taking:
Dr. Gounder also noted that dexamethasone can cause a sense of euphoria. Mr. Trump said in his tweet that he feels better than he has in 20 years.
“A lot of people will just feel really great. If you had any aches and pains, they will disappear. If you had a fever, that will disappear,” she said. “People can become somewhat manic, grandiose.”
Dexamethasone, which tamps down the body’s immune response, is typically given later in the illness, when some patients’ immune systems go into overdrive and attack their vital organs. Experts in infectious disease and emergency medicine have said the steroid is given to patients whose conditions are getting worse, not to someone who is close to getting discharged, raising questions about whether doctors were being overly aggressive or if they were being forthcoming about the president’s true condition.
I’ll post more information as it become available.
UPDATE: There are now at least three other diaries on this same subject published on DKos, including one on the front page by a DKos staff member. Updates on this one might be superfluous at this point.