Trump Gets Experimental COVID Tx, Now at Walter Reed

— Will stay "the next few days"; antibody therapy still in testing, not yet authorized or approved

Last Updated October 3, 2020
MedicalToday
Marine One carrying President Donald J. Trump lifts-off from the South Lawn of the White House

President Trump, who announced he tested positive for COVID-19 early Friday morning, was headed to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the late afternoon for tests and possibly treatment.

Bloomberg reported that citing a statement from the White House.

An earlier , said the president had received "a single 8 gram dose of Regeneron's polyclonal antibody cocktail," which was completed "without incident."

Regeneron had released on Tuesday: the phase I/II/III trial showed the drug "reduced viral load and the time to alleviate symptoms in non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19," as well as showing positive trends towards reducing medical visits.

But the product has not received FDA approval emergency use authorization yet, making it truly investigational. Some physicians on Twitter were . Jeremy Faust, MD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, tweeted that the president's team either "can't read basic medical literature" or "can read basic medical literature, but can't overrule what [the president] is telling them to do" -- or the president's condition is far more serious than reported, and they are trying everything.

Trump is also receiving zinc, vitamin D, famotidine (Pepcid AC), melatonin, and a daily aspirin, according to Conley. It wasn't clear whether these were started as COVID therapy or were simply part of his regular regimen. Conley also didn't mention the president's daily statin that had been reported on previously.

Conley said the president is "fatigued, but in good spirits," and added that First Lady Melania Trump, who also tested positive, has "a mild cough and headache."

Earlier on Friday, AP reported that officials saying , describing them as a "personal choice."

On Saturday morning, Conley , saying in consultation with specialists, doctors "have elected to initiate remdesivir therapy" for Trump. The president completed his first dose and is "resting comfortably," Conley said.

Remdesivir is an investigational antiviral that received emergency use authorization in May. In a randomized trial of hospitalized patients, time to recovery was significantly lower, though differences in mortality estimates between the two groups were non-significant.

on Friday cited a Trump adviser who claimed the president was "having some trouble breathing"; however, Conley said the president "is not requiring any supplemental oxygen."

Conley said he recommended that the president be admitted for "further monitoring" in consultation with specialists from Walter Reed and Johns Hopkins University.

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    Molly Walker is deputy managing editor and covers infectious diseases for . She is a 2020 J2 Achievement Award winner for her COVID-19 coverage.