Doctors Warn Of Potential Side Effects Of Drug Trump Is Taking
KEILAR: Since testing positive for coronavirus, President Trump has undergone an aggressive treatment plan, and this includes everything from a steroid to an experimental cocktail that is not yet approved by the FDA. Jacqueline Howard is our CNN Health Reporter. And, Jacqueline, just take us through this, these three medicines that he is taking and also their side effects.</s>JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Brianna, so we know that the president has been given an aggressive treatment plan. He has access to medications that most COVID-19 patients wouldn't necessarily be treated with. Here is a list of the three main medications that we have been told the president has received. It includes the antiviral drug, remdesivir, it includes the investigational antibody cocktail -- monoclonal antibody cocktail from the company, Regeneron, and the corticosteroid drug, dexamethasone. Now, regarding side effects of these drugs, we know that with Remdesivir, the antiviral, it is administered through an I.V. And we do know that the president is on a five-day course of that medication, so side effects of it can include pain at the injection site, as well as nausea. We also know that with Remdesivir, the goal is for it to help speed recovery. When it comes to the corticosteroid, dexamethasone, the goal with that mediation is for it to target inflammation. And we do know the side effects here, the corticosteroid is commonly used for other conditions, as well as well-known drug. And along with the side effects it can cause includes mood swings. So that's important to keep in mind with dexamethasone as far as the side effects. And then with the investigational monoclonal antibody cocktail from the company, Regeneron, he were told the president was given a single eight gram dose of this medication, and it is currently still experimental. So, that means the president's physician had to request compassionate use for it to be used. Because it is still investigational and, still experimental, we're still learning more about it. But, Brianna, that's a list of what we know so far. That's we've been told. But as you know, there are still a lot we don't know. So we're hoping more details will unfold in moments to come.</s>KEILAR: Yes, that was helpful though. Thank you, Jacqueline Howard, we appreciate it. And let's get more now with Dr. Peter Hotez. He is a Professor and Dean of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. So, Dr. Hotez, let's start with the side effects of these drugs. And what would you say of these drugs is most concerning to you considering the side effects? Just walk us through that.</s>DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR AND DEAN OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Well, there is a lot we don't know about the remdesivir, which is an antiviral drug. So we're going to learn more about it. With steroids, they can cause mood swings, sometimes euphoria. You're seeing a lot of it on the internet trying to claim that that ride through the streets of Washington last night was in response to some kind of euphoria induced by dexamethasone. It's really hard to make that call. I wouldn't be prepared to go there. But on the other hand, these drugs are very powerful and we haven't seen them used in combination a lot. I think, for me, the puzzle is how sick the president was on Wednesday and Thursday. And that's important, because we are getting widely divergent points of views. On the one hand, we're hearing that the president was not that sick, that there was -- that was a precaution, which is a pretty extraordinary regimen of medicines for someone that is not that sick. On the other hand, you're hearing he was, of course, he had all the risk factors, he was declining in terms of oxygenation and his respirations, and there was a lot of concern. And that's what prompted this very aggressive regimen. So it would be really helpful if we had more transparency about that, because some of these medicines are experimental. For instance, that monoclonal antibody that he got, those contain virus-neutralizing antibodies. And we've talked, Brianna, over the last few months about how that is so important in protecting individuals against COVID-19, all of the vaccines work by inducing virus-neutralizing antibodies, except it can take six weeks after two doses to induce that. These monoclonal antibodies give it up front. So, one possible scenario is that the president was deteriorating and these monoclonal antibodies saved his life. That is a possibility. But without any real transparency or knowledge from White House medical staff of what the heck was going on with the president, it is hard to really piece it all together.</s>KEILAR: So maybe this is a question that you can answer. On one hand, you're saying there could -- one of the reasons for giving him all of these things, which are serious medications, is because he has been very sick and they're throwing everything at the problem that they can. Is there another possibility that there's a hope that maybe they can do this, and it would be -- he's the president, maybe a speedy recovery, or is that not really a consideration here in how these medications might be being prescribed?</s>HOTEZ: You know, at this point, it's so hard to know. It could be that is it because the physicians panicked and because he is the president, they just had this reflex action. I would tend to doubt it. I mean, if you were the White House physician, knowing how reckless everyone is at the White House with wearing masks, you would think -- I mean, I would certainly, if I were the White House physician, I would actually have a plan ready to go in case the president starts getting COVID-19 and starts to deteriorate. And that would mean calling ahead of time with the companies, Regeneron, to have that monoclonal antibody ready so that if he did start to deteriorate, we might consider that. And it's just a matter of pressing the send button, and is that what happened or was it because the president himself insisted on getting all these medications. Again, without any kind of clarity, we could speculate all day. My best guess is that -- it is only a guess, is that the White House maybe had a plan for what to do, he started to deteriorate and they activated that plan. And part of that plan, notifying Walter Reed, getting ready to admit him, and maybe using the monoclonal antibody, which neutralizing antibodies are probably one of the most effective weapons we have, it would be nice to have those randomized clinical trial results before we went ahead and did that.</s>KEILAR: Sure. And just very quickly, because I am out of time, Dr. Hotez, considering some of the side effects here, should he have outsourced his duties to the vice president?</s>HOTEZ: Yes, that's a good question. Given how quickly he could have deteriorated, given what we know about COVID-19 and all of his risk factors, with his age, in fact, he is male, and the underlying co- morbidities, the weight and maybe high blood pressure, I think that could have been a viable strategy. And also in terms of keeping him in the hospital, that Remdesivir is a five-day course. Stay there. Stay at Walter Reed at least for the next five days, because we don't know about all the drug interactions. And there's still a lot that could go wrong. The president is not out of the woods, even despite the crazy ride last night.</s>KEILAR: Doctor Hotez, it was a crazy ride. Thank you so much for explaining this to us. The president leaving isolation, putting two Secret Service agents at risk to take this joyride outside of a hospital. Hear what agents are saying behind the scenes. They are not happy. Plus, Joe Biden comments on the future of the race with the president in the hospital. And, nationwide, there are disturbing new signs that the virus is surging again.