Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis is ‘very concerning’ because of age and weight, Dobbs says
President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis is “very concerning” because of his age and weight, State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs said this morning on conservative Paul Gallo’s SuperTalk Mississippi radio show.
“A significant number in that age group, a significant minority, are going to have health problems,” Dobbs said when Gallo asked about Trump’s higher risk from being 74 years old and overweight.
Trump tweeted at 1 a.m. Friday that both he and Melania Trump had tested positive for the virus after close associate Hope Hicks also received a positive test.
The New York Times is reporting that the president so far is experiencing “mild” symptoms like those from a cold and appeared lethargic Thursday during a fund-raiser at his Bedminster, N.J., golf club.
Obesity puts Trump at higher risk for COVID illness
“A person briefed on the matter said that Mr. Trump fell asleep at one point on Air Force One on the way back from a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday night,” The New York Times article said.
A national address or videotaped statement was being discussed among his advisors to reassure the public, the article said.
Trump is categorized as obese, a factor that puts people at higher risk of serious illness. He weighed 243 pounds at his last checkup in February 19, the news website Business Insider and other publications reported. News outlets also mentioned that being male increases his risk of serious illness.
“People between ages 65 and 74 are five times more likely to be hospitalized and 90 times more likely to die than those 18 to 29,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Bloomberg news reported. “Men have accounted for 54% of Covid-19 deaths in the U.S., according to the CDC.”
COVID might seem mild, then worsen
Dobbs, an infectious disease expert, reminded Gallo that COVID-19 symptoms can be mild at first. He said people might become sick, begin to feel better, then deteriorate after a week or two.
He said Trump will have to isolate for 10 days and then would no longer be contagious unless he developed a more serious illness necessitating hospitalization. In that case, Dobbs said, the infectious period can last 20 days.
Dobbs discounted material Gallo said he had reviewed that showed COVID-19 is weakening as it mutates.
Mutation of the virus is slow, Dobbs said. He said he has seen no indication that the virus, which has killed more than 207,000 people in the United States, is less harmful.
“We’ve got to be very cautious not to wish away the bad stuff,” Dobbs said. “ . . . I really do not think at this time the virus has appreciably weakened in its severity.”
Gov. Tate Reeves said he is praying for the Trumps and calls on Mississippians to form a “prayer team” for the president and first lady.
“In Mississippi, we know the power of prayer. We know that it is real, and that God heals,” Reeves tweeted.
