As part of his coronavirus treatment, President Trump is now receiving the steroid dexamethasone, his doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center revealed Sunday.
“In response to transient low oxygen levels … we did initiate dexamethasone therapy, and he received his first dose of that yesterday,” said Dr. Brian Garibaldi during a press briefing outside the facility. “Our plan is to continue that for the time being.”
The president is receiving that treatment in addition to a course of Remdesivir, an experimental but promising antiviral drug.
Dexamethasone is a widely available steroid commonly used to treat everything from edema to eye inflammation to autoimmune diseases and cancers including leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
In June, dexamethasone was found by British researchers to be effective in treating severely ill COVID-19 patients, reducing death rates by around a third among those in need of assisted breathing or supplemental oxygen.
The National Institutes of Health, however, has recommended against the drug’s use on patients with milder cases of the virus.
Trump’s medical team has observed two instances of the president’s blood-oxygen saturation declining and administered supplemental oxygen, but said Sunday that he is on the mend and may be discharged as early as Monday.
