Donald Trump’s COVID-19 update | US President doing well, undergoing Remdesivir therapy: WH doctor

A Donald Trump adviser said that there were reasons for concern about the president's health.

Moneycontrol News

October 03, 2020 / 11:31 IST

US President Donald Trump and FIrst Lady Melania Trump (Image: AP)

US President Donald Trump, who was shifted to a military hospital after being tested positive for COVID-19, is undergoing Remdesivir therapy and is "doing well", the White House physician has said.

The Trump administration had issued an emergency use authorisation for Remdesivir earlier this year after the drug showed moderate effectiveness in improving outcomes for patients who were hospitalised with the coronavirus.

White House physician Sean Conley said medical specialists have recommended Remdesivir therapy to treat the president's COVID-19 infection.

"This evening, I am happy to report that the President is doing well," Conley said in a health bulletin, the first after the president was moved to the military hospital as a precautionary measure.

He is not requiring any supplemental oxygen, but in consultation with specialists, we have elected to initiate Remdesivir therapy. He has completed his first dose and is resting comfortably, he said.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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