President Donald Trump’s recovery from Covid-19 may amplify public misunderstanding, according to White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Health experts find it difficult to emphasize the gravity of Covid-19 to many Americans. With this, Dr. Fauci thinks President Trump’s recovery from the disease makes the challenge heavier.
Trump’s fast bounce-back from Covid-19 will likely magnify the false belief some people have that the infection does not have substantial health risks, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said in an interview with STAT.
“We’re all glad that the president of the United States did not suffer any significant consequences of it,” Dr. Fauci said. “But … because he is such a visible figure, it amplifies some of that misunderstanding that people have that it’s a benign disease and nobody has anything to worry about,” he noted.
He explained that the different clinical manifestations of Covid-19 make the seriousness of Covid-19 challenging. Some people do not manifest any symptoms, while others have everything from flu-like symptoms to blood clots and pneumonia.
“It’s just a lot of understandable mixed signals, that it’s either serious or it’s not serious. It’s deadly or it’s not deadly. To me, that’s been the bane of trying to get a message across to people,” he said.
“It’s a problem that goes well beyond the president’s illness,” he added.
High risk
Trump, who was considered at high risk of having severe Covid-19 because of his age, weight, and sex, was hospitalized for four days earlier this month after testing positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19. First lady Melania Trump also tested positive for the virus; White House doctors described her case as milder than the president’s. She did not need to be hospitalized.
Trump had supplemental oxygen on at least twice before he was sent to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Oct. 2. Trump underwent treatment for four days with an experimental antibody cocktail, the antiviral drug remdesivir, as well as the steroid dexamethasone.
The president resumed work, leading a rally in Florida where he said he is immune to Covid-19. He also tweeted that fear of Covid-19 should not lead people’s lives.
Moreover, Trump reiterates that the coronavirus will soon be gone, even though daily infection cases are increasing in most parts of the country. Over 7.8 million Americans have been diagnosed with Covid-19 and over 215,000 have died.
Young adults
Restrictions were loosened in the summer, but most cases have happened in young adults, a demographic group that rarely dies from Covid-19. Dr. Fauci and others have found it hard to convince members of this demographic that their movements can affect communities.
“It’s just something that I’ve been struggling with for some time in messaging, when you try to get to young people and you tell them ‘Wear a mask, avoid crowds.’ And they say, ‘Well, what’s the difference if I get infected? The overwhelming likelihood is that I’m not going to get seriously impacted. So, who cares?’” Dr. Fauci said.
“And what they don’t grasp is that by getting infected, they’re propagating the outbreak. And by propagating the outbreak sooner or later a vulnerable person is going to get infected,” Fauci said. “It is a big deal.”
