“If you get sick with covid-19, don’t expect to receive the same treatment as Donald Trump,” writes CNN. The American leader who, in the past, had asked his followers not to be afraid of the new coronavirus, is receiving “extra attention” and “the best possible care”, with treatments that are not even available yet for population.
“I feel better than 20 years ago,” said the 45th President of the USA, 74, this Monday on Twitter, not to mention that other Americans infected with SARS-CoV-2 are not having access to health care comparable to those being administered.
Even before being hospitalized last Friday at the Walter Reed military hospital, Trump received an eight-gram dose of experimental antibody therapy to fight the new coronavirus, developed by the biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, a solution that is not available for the rest of society, despite the fact that the first studies indicate the benefits of the drug (REGN-COV2) in the first stage of infection.
It should be noted that the American Medicines Agency (FDA) has not authorized the widespread use of REGN-COV2, but allows for punctual use, assessing each case. Doctors at the White House asked the company and the FDA for authorization to use the drug, having been given the green light. “All we can say is that they asked to use it, and we were happy to satisfy them,” said Leonarrd S. Schleifer, head of Regeneron Pharmaceutical.
As it is an experimental therapy, the remaining patients do not have access, unless they participate in clinical trials. “There are (almost) 210,000 Americans who have died in the past few months because the response to the pandemic was very bad. They certainly did not have access to this type of treatment ”, stresses epidemiologist Seema Yasmin, cited by CNN.
Three in one patient
But Trump’s privileges do not end there. In addition to REGN-COV-2, Donald Trump is also being treated with Remdesivir (also without FDA approval, only for very specific cases) and Dexamethasone.
“The President may be the only patient on the planet to receive this specific combination of three drugs,” says Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine at George Washington University.
While millions of Americans continue to struggle to be tested for covid-19, Trump on the other hand “is the most tested man in the United States,” as Kayleigh McEnany, the President’s press officer, said.
“He was tested more than anyone else, multiple times a day,” said the person in charge of communications in July, although she was contradicted by the boss himself. “I am subjected, on average, to a test every two or three days,” said Donald Trump.
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