Some COVID-19 patients receive same treatments at President Trump

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - The world has been watching since President Donald Trump first announced that he tested positive for COVID-19. 

“I’m really happy to see that he’s getting better fast because of a couple of things. One, is the treatment works. We’re getting a handle on treatment,” said Dr. Todd Husty, medical director for Seminole County. 

As a physician of 40 years who’s been treating coronavirus patients for months, he’s extremely interested in seeing how some of the top doctors in the country are treating the Commander in Chief.   

“The President got treated while he is in the viremic phase of the infection, meaning he’s multiplying virus like crazy. That’s a very good time to use antiviral or antibodies. That’s where you want it to stop, before you build up a lot of viruses,” Dr. Husty said.

Dr. Husty made a point of noting that over the last seven months, doctors here in the U.S. have changed the way they treat COVID-19. 

He says doctors are no longer waiting until patients are extremely ill and on a ventilator to use the types of treatments the President is getting. 

“Remdesivir is an antiviral. Think Tamiflu, but only IV,” Dr. Husty said. “It’s been proven to lessen the symptoms and shorten the course, but it’s because it keeps the virus from replicating.” 

President  Trump also received a monoclonal antibody cocktail that acts like the antibodies of a COVID-19 survivor. 

“Manufactured antibodies. They’re actually out of a test tube, if you will,” Dr. Husty said. 

Another treatment the president received is Dexamethasone, a corticosteroid. 

Dr. Husty has been using that drug on some of his own COVID-19 patients. 

“It’s really for that second battle, which is the inflammation that you get.  It’s interesting that they had the President on it, which makes me feel maybe he had it, maybe they’re considering he had it earlier,” Dr. Husty said. 

He’s cautiously optimistic for President Trump. 

“I think there’s a very good chance he’s out of the woods. With this deceitful virus, you never let your guard down,” Dr. Husty said.