Trump still contagious? Experts say it’s impossible to know; what’s promising about antibody treatments
President Donald Trump said Thursday he doesn’t think he’s contagious anymore, but medical experts say that’s impossible to know a week after his diagnosis with COVID-19.
Most people with COVID-19 can stop isolating and be around others about 10 days after they first showed symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s provided their symptoms have improved, they have not had a fever for 24 hours and are no longer on any medication to reduce a high temperature. But there’s no way to know for certain that someone is no longer contagious so soon after falling ill, experts say.
“At this point, there’s no diagnostic test that tells you whether a person that’s infected remains infectious,” said Dr. Benjamin Pinsky, who leads Stanford University’s virology labs. “There is absolutely a chain of unknowns.”
Meanwhile, experimental antibody drugs like the one Trump was given are among the most promising therapies being tested for treating and preventing coronavirus infections. But they’re not cures and it’s not likely that everyone will be able to get them as Trump has suggested.
Eli Lilly and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. are asking the U.S. government to allow emergency use of their antibody drugs, which aim to help the immune system clear the virus. The medicines are still in testing; their safety and effectiveness are not yet known.
Trump is among fewer than 10 people who were able to access the Regeneron one under “compassionate use” rules, without enrolling in a study.
So how do they work? Read more to find out:
In other developments:
- President Donald Trump said Thursday he doesn’t think he’s contagious anymore, but medical experts say that’s impossible to know a week after his diagnosis with COVID-19.
- A surge of coronavirus cases in Wisconsin and the Dakotas is forcing a scramble for hospital beds and raising political tensions, as the Upper Midwest and Plains emerge as one of the nation’s most troubling hotspots.
- President Trump says he’s ready to hold campaign rallies and is crediting an experimental antibody drug with helping his recovery from COVID-19. But there’s no way for the president or his doctors to know whether the drug had any effect.
- Doctors and nurses treating those sick and dying from the coronavirus say the politics of the crisis are complicating treatment efforts.
- In an extraordinary step, the Washington D.C. Department of Health has released an open letter appealing to all White House staff and anyone who attended a Sept. 26 event in the Rose Garden to seek medical advice and take a COVID-19 test. The letter indicates a lack of confidence in the White House medical team’s own contact tracing efforts.
- It’s a daunting assignment for any doctor: assess a patient’s condition for an audience of millions without being able to examine him or see a complete medical chart. That, in effect, is what medical experts at news organizations have been asked to do since Trump revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19.
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she’s “at the table” and ready to negotiate a coronavirus aid package even after President Trump halted talks abruptly.
- New, eye-popping federal budget figures released Thursday show an enormous $3.1 trillion deficit in the just-completed fiscal year, a record swelled by coronavirus relief spending that pushed the tally of red ink to three times that of last year.
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday that he hasn’t been to the White House since early August, citing a difference in coronavirus protocols at the White House and in the Senate.
- White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows hosted a large wedding for his daughter that appeared to violate a Georgia order and city of Atlanta guidelines to stop the spread of COVID-19, a newspaper reported Thursday.
- Brazil has surpassed 5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and is verging on 150,000 dead, but Brazilians are burned out on quarantine.
- McDonald’s and Domino’s Pizza saw stronger U.S. same-store sales in the July-September period, indicating customers’ preference for drive-thru and delivery remained strong even as lockdown restrictions eased.
- College football officials are finding the pandemic is making their their jobs even harder than usual.
For more summaries and full reports, select from the articles below. Scroll further for a map of superspreading events around the world, plus the latest virus numbers.
