• lvysaur [he/him]
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    4 years ago

    I know more about the virus than pretty much anyone, because I've been houseridden by it and reading about it since March. I've been to about 15 doctors and I know more about it than 14 of them, probably equal for the last 1.

    It's very hard for some to actually test positive, because the viral counts go down extremely quickly in some people. Two weeks after the very first symptoms, your average chance of testing positive (assuming you actually had the virus) goes down to 33%, which is important because the first week of symptoms is usually so mild that people don't even consider it noticeable until retrospect.

    The fact that trump tested positive means they probably caught it early, before it could do much damage.

    In addition, they gave him antibodies. People who suffer more from the virus, and who shed it for longer amounts of time, are actually more likely to produce antibodies. He basically got that solution without actually having to go through the motions (and risk death)

    People who have lasting dysfunction, CFS/ME, "long hauler" COVID, don't produce antibodies, but apparently clear the virus somehow. Trump is unlikely to die or suffer any lasting effects, other than possibly whatever damage has been done up until this point.

    • lol [he/him]
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      4 years ago

      He is (probably) luckily that he got monoclonal antibodies, especially so early after testing positive.

      There’s basically two ways the body fights off the virus - lymphocytes (innate immune system) and antibodies (adaptive immune system). It generally takes the body about two weeks to formulate a blueprint to mount an antibody response, In the mean time you’re relying on innate immunity.

      On the other hand Trump’s Covid seems to have progressed to severe very quickly (lung infiltration, treatment with dexamethasone), so even the fact that he received monoclonal antibodies might have been too little too late. It will be really interesting to see what happens at day 8-10 of symptoms.

      Also the preliminary data from the Phase II trials of the antibody treatment Trump received was mostly based on younger, healthier patients. It’s not clear how effective it would be in a 74 year old with underlying health conditions.