Former US President Donald Trump had a more severe picture of Covid-19 in October than published at the time, with low oxygen levels and a lung problem associated with coronavirus pneumonia, according to four people familiar with his state.
The prognosis became so worrying that before being taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, officials felt it would be necessary to intubate him, two of those close to the case said.
They said the then president had inflammatory disease in his lungs, containing substances such as fluid or bacteria – which may be a sign, especially when the patient has other symptoms, of a acute case of the disease.
Trump’s blood oxygenation level, around 80%, was also of great concern. The disease is considered to be at a severe stage when this indicator is less than 90%.
The ex-president was already known to have difficulty breathing and a fever on October 2, when he was sent to hospital, and the treatments he received indicated his condition was serious.
These new details about his condition and the effort in the White House to gain special access to an unapproved drug to fight the virus, however, help understand one of the most serious episodes of the Trump presidency.
The revelations about Trump’s fight against the virus also underscore the limited and sometimes misleading nature of the information released at the time about his condition.
The former president resisted being taken to hospital, relenting when advisers told him he could leave on his own or risk waiting for Secret Service to be forced to charge him if he was ill, two said. people close to the situation.
While Trump was hospitalized, the medical team sought to downplay the seriousness of the case, saying it was improving. At 74 years old and overweight, he was at risk of serious illness and doctors prescribed aggressive treatment.
The Republican left hospital after three days in which he, at one point, made a short drive to greet the crowd of supporters outside the building.
It remains to be seen, however, whether Trump was already ill when he took part in the debate with Joe Biden on September 29 – two days before the public announcement that he had been diagnosed with Covid-19 and three days before his condition. only worsens the forced to go to the hospital.