Trump’s comments on COVID-19 ‘cure’ create confusion, says Dr. Fauci

The words of Donald Trump, who congratulated himself on his recovery from COVID-19 thanks to an experimental treatment that he called a “cure”, can create “a lot of confusion”, said Friday Anthony Fauci, the one of the US government’s leading experts on the coronavirus.

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The director of the American Institute of Infectious Diseases, a globally respected scientist, also spoke of a “super propagator” event in connection with a ceremony held at the end of September at the White House, suspected of being at the origin of the COVID-19 infection of several guests.

“I think it really depends on what you mean by remedy, because that word creates a lot of confusion,” Mr. Fauci said on CBS Radio.

“We have good treatments for people with severe illness who are hospitalized,” said the doctor, listing different drugs already tested in trials on thousands of patients, such as the antiviral remdesivir and the corticosteroid dexamethasone, which have been prescribed in American president.

But he was more cautious about treatments with “monoclonal” antibodies, such as that developed by the American biotechnology company Regeneron, praised by the president, or that of the pharmaceutical group Eli Lilly.

“They show promise in clinical trials, but overall their efficacy or safety has yet to be proven,” said Anthony Fauci.

Regeneron’s treatment, intended to replace the immune system to neutralize the coronavirus, has produced promising results in preliminary clinical trials in 275 patients.

Asked about the usefulness of the masks after several guests at a White House ceremony on September 26 tested positive for the coronavirus, D^r Fauci estimated that “the data by[ai]of themselves ”.

“We had a super-propagator event at the White House [où] people were close to each other and did not wear a mask, ”he said.

More than 30 people are suspected of having been infected during this ceremony organized for the nomination of Mr. Trump’s candidate for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett.

As for the concerns of some experts over a hasty return to business for Mr. Trump, which could still be contagious as he holds his first public event at the White House on Saturday since his hospitalization, he said he trusted him. president’s medical team.

“I can tell you that they will test it […] to find out if it is no longer contaminated, ”he said. “I can guarantee you they will give him a test before they let him out.”