“All of the information medical professionals want to know, all the things that are happening, vital signs, what his clinical exam looks like, what does he look like as a patient, are we treating the actual patient or are we treating a political ideology or a title or an office, and without that information at your disposal it’s hard to think about what are the processes going forward, how are we keeping this evidence based, how are we keeping this patient centered, are we doing the best we can to manage this actual human, this actual person‘s disease and if we are, we need to be transparent with it.” Dr. Myron Rolle, former NFL player, now a Neurosurgery Resident playing defense on the front lines of COVID-19, Massachusetts General Hospital, discussing the White House handling of Donald Trump’s case

            “Do you think these rallies like the White House event a few weeks ago are likely to become superspreader events?” Jake Tapper, CNN

            “Yes, I really do, and the virus is the constant here, it is very contagious. You put people together for long periods of time, longer than 15 minutes, closely clustered, maskless, those are the ingredients for a superspreader event. The challenge has been there are so many newly infected people every day in this country, contact tracing has basically become a futile task. How do you contact trace 50,000 people every day? It would be an entire sector of our society dedicated to doing that. But what we did and we have some reporting on this, we were able to go back to these cities, Tulsa you mentioned, Phoenix, and then Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in the beginning of August. you know after people are exposed to the time they get hospitalized is typically a few weeks, right?… It’s hard to actually contact trace back to the event, but hospitalizations is a truer measure. In Tulsa as you mentioned Herman Cain [former presidential candidate and Trump supporter] may have been exposed at that event and subsequently died. But we know hospitalizations went up three-fold a few weeks after Tulsa. We know in Phoenix hospitalizations were about 2000 per day at the time of that rally and went to 3000… Oshkosh—hospitalizations went up 20 percent within that time period after the rally so, again, cause and effect is always gonna be challenging to draw but look what happened in all the cities a few weeks after. People got sick. Hospitalizations went up. Was it directly related to the rallies? We may never know. But in places where the virus is already spreading like this? It’s really challenging.” Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN

            “The next 6 to 12 weeks are going to be the darkest of the entire pandemic.” Dr. Michael Osterholm, leading epidemiologist, Meet the Press, Sunday, 10/18

            “Its not like it’s a mystery anymore of how to beat this thing, it’s just a matter of implementing what we know.” Dr. Ashish Jha, leading epidemiologist, 10/19

 

Dear Students,

I am writing in a different mood from my usual fact-based, hyperlinked style. My mood, I have to say, has become more meditative, and even sad. I have not avoided politics completely in past updates, but now I have come to a point where it is impossible to discuss the health of Americans in this dangerous moment in history without taking a political stand. The behavior of our current president is severely damaging to the public’s health, more so every day.

Because of his arrogance and negligence, he himself was colonized by SARS-CoV2, as were his wife, his teenage son, and many of his closest associates. He invited the virus into his body in late September, either at the superspreader event celebrating his Supreme Court Justice pick on the 26th, or in the next few days of intensive, close, maskless debate practice.

His young aide Hope Hicks became ill on Thursday, October 1st, and was confirmed to have the virus too late to protect many, including the president. Whether she gave it to him or got it from him is impossible to say, because of consistent lying about the president’s frequency of testing, not to mention refusal to reveal the results. In the small hours as Thursday turned to Friday, it was announced that both he and the First Lady had tested positive.

Friday afternoon he was ‘coptered to Walter Reed Army Hospital and admitted. After a number of days of concealment and lying by his doctors—both of which are still going on—we learned that he had had a significant fever, that his blood oxygen had been below normal on at least two tests, although no numbers were offered except that it was below 94 and above the low 80s. Since he had serious lung symptoms and signs, it is inconceivable that he did not get a chest X-ray, a chest CT, and possibly other lung studies; however, the results of those studies were not shared with us.

Similarly, we were never told the reason for his impromptu visit to Walter Reed Hospital a year ago. Lies were told first about it being an early start to his annual physical, then about it being a follow-up. He and his doctor officially denied that he had been evaluated for transient ischemic attacks (temporary strokes), but he bragged about his performance on a cognitive test with a very low ceiling, meaning it was only intended to rule out big brain problems such as stroke and dementia.

The first medical information we got about him was a letter from his personal physician saying he would be the healthiest man ever to become president. Obviously that physician could not have made the comparison, and he admitted that Trump had dictated the letter to him. Later we found out that he had a cholesterol in the 260s, since brought down. He is also reported to have a common cardiac problem, which based on his cholesterol levels in the past and on his obesity, would most likely be coronary artery calcification.

That’s about all we know of his underlying conditions (other than age and body mass index) relevant to his recent case of COVID-19. Based on the medications he was given, it is widely agreed that his doctors at Walter Reed—some of the best in the world—were very concerned. The main medications were:

1. An experimental antibody medication that the president refers to as Regeneron—the name of the company that makes it, since the drug does not yet have a name;
2. Remdesivir, an antiviral medication that many (including me) have thought was very promising but which a new WHO study (published since Mr. Trump got it) has cast doubt on;
3. Dexamethasone, a standard steroid treatment for inflammation in many diseases, proven to save lives in advanced COVID-19.

Mr. Trump got all three treatments within the first day or two of his symptomatic illness, very unusual for dexamethasone. His doctors were either extremely worried from the outset or they were giving him VIP treatment, not always beneficial to the VIP.

He was also given supplemental oxygen, only instituted because of low blood oxygen and/or difficulty breathing, and fever-lowering medications, including dexamethasone. We never heard anyone on his medical team mention those medications when they repeatedly announced that he was fever-free.

He was released from the hospital Monday evening. He did not speak spontaneously but he had made a few brief videos for public consumption. After climbing the White House steps he removed his mask, appeared to have difficulty breathing, and did not speak.

If his course of dexamethasone was usual, it would have lasted ten to fourteen days. We have not been told if or when his dexamethasone was tapered to zero. If he was indeed tapered and has not been taking it for the past week or so, then it is quite possible he had a mild case, less serious than most who are hospitalized.

Because so little is known about the monoclonal antibodies he took, we can’t be sure when his own antibody response would be expected to kick in, but 21-25 days is a reasonable expectation after the Regeneron antibodies clear. We do not know if or when he stopped taking dexamethasone.

These questions are important for two reasons: 1. Is he immune or even partly immune to reinfection? 2. Is he still potentially subject to self-attack by his own immune system, which happens in so many COVID-19 patients—including, probably, his wife, who yesterday dropped out of her first campaign event in months, reporting a persistent cough.

COVID-19 is a two- or three- phase disease in the serious cases. First, the virus does its nasty work on your lungs, but it usually remains in the cells lining the lungs and bronchi. In most cases it does not enter the bloodstream or affect other organs on its own. It tends to stay where you breathed it in. It can kill you in this phase, but often doesn’t.

Phase 2 is your immune system response. This produces an attack on the walls of blood vessels everywhere in your body. This, your own body’s response, is usually what damages your heart, kidneys, brain, blood vessels, and other organs. This is very often the cause of death, including in children. By the way, the same was true of the influenza of 1918-19, although most deaths were in young adults, who are relatively protected from COVID-19 death.

Phase 3, which we are learning occurs in more people than we thought, is what has been called the “long haul.” Long haulers have symptoms, probably due to the lasting effects of inflammation, for months after recovering from the main part of the illness. The virus is too new for us to know whether these months may turn into years.

When Former Governor Chris Christie, whose COVID-19 was almost certainly contracted while coaching the president for the debate, left the hospital after a more serious case than Mr. Trump’s, he said loudly and clearly that he had been wrong, that he had let his guard down, that he had underestimated the virus. He also said that everyone should take the virus very very seriously.

Mr. Trump said the opposite. He told us not to be afraid of the virus, that he had beaten it and we could too; we should refuse to let it dominate our lives. He said that he had been cured by “Regeneron,” a completely experimental treatment no ordinary patient can get. There is no cure for COVID-19 as yet. In the days that followed his discharge, Mr. Trump showed what are very widely recognized mental symptoms caused by dexamethasone: strangely elevated mood, disorganized thought processes, and hypomania.

He soon returned to his most intense level of campaigning, making long speeches without difficulty breathing. The most likely explanation for this recovery is that he simply dodged the bullet—he had a mild, short case irrespective of his medications. The second is that he really was greatly helped by the trio of medicines he was given: the cocktail of two antibodies given to very few people in the world; the Remdesivir; and the dexamethasone started exceptionally early in his illness. As far as we know, no one has ever been given this combination of drugs with this timing.

A third, and I think distant, possibility, is that he is not yet over it. It is only 19 days since he entered the hospital. His treatment may have postponed his Phase 2, the autoimmune attack, rather than putting it permanently aside.

Mr. Trump’s public remarks about the virus since he had it are something like a worst case scenario for almost every public health expert and every family mourning a COVID death. He has stepped up his rhetoric minimizing the virus and he has held two to three likely super-spreader events per day for the last week, many in states that have rapidly rising case loads and hospitalizations. He continues to violate and ridicule the only preventive measures we have, or will have, between now and when we can be widely vaccinated, and he continues to lie relentlessly about when such vaccination is likely. He has caused, and will continue to cause, many thousands of needless deaths, and the suffering of hundreds of thousands of survivors of the virus and of the loss of loved ones.

Which brings me to the question of the other kind of illness he may have.

For years now psychiatrists have been arguing over whether it is possible to give Mr. Trump a diagnosis from a distance. The American Psychiatric Association defends the Goldwater rule, which rejects such diagnoses of political or other public figures without examining them. This organization preemptively threatened sanctions against member psychiatrists who attempted to diagnose Mr. Trump without examining him personally.

Others, including a group led by Bandy Lee, a psychiatrist and ethicist at Yale Law School, have concluded that the well-established Duty to Warn applies to Mr. Trump. This duty holds that patient confidentiality may or must be violated when the doctor concludes that the patient poses a clear and present danger to others, based on what the doctor has learned.

Few psychiatrists would claim that they can glean more information in a face to face two-hour diagnostic interview with a new patient than they already have about Donald Trump in the public record, which, importantly, goes back through his adolescence and childhood. I have an MD but do not practice medicine and am not licensed to do so. I have a lifelong interest in psychiatry and neurology but I am not qualified in either, but neither do I have anything to fear from APA sanctions.

So I will not give you a diagnosis, but I will tell you the criteria for the diagnoses that are most frequently discussed as mental disorders Mr. Trump may have.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD, DSM-5 301.81):

A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements).
2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.
3. Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions).
4. Requires excessive admiration.
5. Has a sense of entitlement (i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations).
6. Is interpersonally exploitative (i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends).
7. Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others.
8. Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her.
9. Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD, DSM-5 301.7)

1. A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:
   1. Failure to conform to social norms concerning lawful behaviors, such as performing acts that are grounds for arrest.
   2. Deceitfulness, repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for pleasure or personal profit.
   3. Impulsivity or failure to plan.
   4. Irritability and aggressiveness, often with physical fights or assaults.
   5. Reckless disregard for the safety of self or others.
   6. Consistent irresponsibility, failure to sustain consistent work behavior, or honor monetary obligations.
   7. Lack of remorse, being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another person.
2. The individual is at least age 18 years.
3. Evidence of conduct disorder typically with onset before age 15 years.
4. The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Not surprisingly, both of these disorders are far more common in men than in women. When a person meets the criteria for both disorders, the term malignant narcissism is sometimes applied, although it is not an official DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the APA, 5th edition) diagnosis. In neuropsychiatric terms, it seem reasonable to hypothesize that someone who meets the criteria for both disorders has a lower than average inhibitory capacity of the prefrontal cortex in relation to the impulses stemming from the amygdala.

When a man (and it would likely be a man) who meets even some of these criteria is in charge of the “land of the free,” he puts millions of people at risk. Objectively, his personal behavior resulted in his family, aides, staff, associates, and their families becoming infected with SARS-CoV2. Whether they mostly got it from him (quite possible) or got it from each other under conditions he created and insisted on, he caused them to be ill. His wife is still coughing, too sick to campaign with him. His friend and debate coach Chris Christie spent a week in the hospital with a much more severe case than Mr. Trump had, and after his release he publicly announced that he was wrong and publicly advised Americans to do the opposite of what their president is encouraging them to do.

The result has been, and will continue to be, what Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains above in his answer to Jake Tapper’s question. Yes, the President of the United States is continuing to hold one superspreader event after another, and yes, the President of the United States has caused and will cause at least scores of thousands of unnecessary deaths, which are the tip of the iceberg of American suffering.

A few hours ago, an analysis published by the Columbia University School of Public Health estimated that between 130,000 and 210,000 of the 223,000 people who have died of COVID-19 in the US to date had preventable deaths. Suppose we take the lower number and cut it in half to get to a rock-bottom minimum. That would leave 65,000 needless deaths so far, approximately the number of Americans killed in the Vietnam War.

Or, consider how news outlets and people throughout the world react to the crash of a single jumbo jet that kills 350 passengers and crew; billions of people react with pity and grief, and eventually may get angry, trying to find out why the plane crashed and who perhaps should be held responsible. My very-lowball estimate of 65,000 preventable deaths so far is the equivalent of 186 jumbo jet crashes, or around one crash every day since the first US case.

As you know, I’m not enthusiastic about predictions, but the consensus model (thanks again to Dr. Craig Hadley) has us at around 5,000 cases a week right now, rising to around 5,500 over the next month. If protective measures are relaxed, we could go to over 7,000, or if they are more strongly applied, half that. If we stay between 5,000 and 5,500, we will have added 50,000 to 55,000 deaths by New Year’s Eve. I consider that a low estimate, but we could easily reduce it to 30,000 or less, or if we are reckless enough, increase it to 70,000 or more.

Thus with this very conservative model of models, we could save at least 40,000 lives by enhancing rather than relaxing protective measures. Taking into account the advent of flu season, the effect of winter driving people inside, and the holiday season creating larger-than-usual family gatherings, the maximum number of deaths, and therefore the potential number of saved lives, could be much greater.

This is without considering the impact of Mr. Trump’s more than daily superspreader events around the country for the last three weeks leading up to November 3rd. Mr. Trump’s behavioral role in causing the new wave of the pandemic we are in would be explained if it were possible to find in him traits 4 and 7 in the NPD criteria above, and/or traits 5 and 7 in the ASPD criteria. Speaking as a lay person who has access to all public information about Mr. Trump, I think it is legitimate to state that he has those four traits. This is not a diagnosis, but it is tantamount to finding that he is an effective ally of the virus in its spread through our people.

The chart, based on Johns Hopkins University data (not projections) suggests that we are well into the third wave of the US pandemic, with a steep rise in daily cases rivalling the maximum achieved nationally in July, and still very much on the upward swing. Thirty-one states have more cases this week than last, and only one, Hawaii, has fewer.

Hospitalizations (second chart), a much better measure, are already following suit, and many states, particularly in the Midwest and Great Plains, are beginning to see overflow crises comparable to what we saw in New York in March and April and in the southern states in July. Deaths will duly surge, although not as much as in the past, since fortunately we are saving more of those hospitalized.

What caused the third wave? Many factors. Dismally prepared college openings caused youth outbreaks which caused community spread. People let their guard down in crowded bars and restaurants. The President of the United States made fun of mask wearing and encouraged people to relax other precautions. Premature school openings were often reversed because of spikes in cases, not usually harmful to children but gravely threatening to teachers, staff, and families. And spread continued in and from nursing homes, prisons, and meat packing plants.

Good News

1. While two major vaccine trials (AstraZenica, Johnson & Johnson) were halted because of adverse effects, including a death, two other major trials (Pfizer, Moderna) are progressing well and could request emergency use authorization from the FDA by early December. The FDA vaccine group is meeting today to discuss guidelines for approval.
2. Although Remdesivir has proved disappointing in the most recent research, it has been successful in other studies, and it just became the first treatment approved by the FDA specifically for COVID-19.
3. Another antiviral, now called EIDD-2801 has been extremely successful in a mouse model that carries transplanted human lung tissue. Unlike Remdesevir, it is an oral medication, and could be used as an outpatient treatment very early in the disease, or even prophylactically for those with known exposure. Human trials are under way.
4. Antibody cocktails such as Mr. Trump received (part of his VIP treatment) are under study and may prove their efficacy in time, in ongoing trials.
5. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, after an apparently near-death-experience with the virus—which he likely caught from or because of Mr. Trump—has become a strong advocate of taking the virus seriously and applying all known preventive measures.
6. The best news is that we already have a hugely effective vaccination program: First Shot: Social Distancing; First Booster: Wear a Mask; Second Booster: Wash Your Hands; Follow-up Examination: TETRIS (Testing, Contact tracing, Isolation). This is the vaccination program that has utterly beaten the virus in quite a few other countries. Will we ever use it?

Do the right thing, be patient, this will pass, live to brag about how you didn’t get it and didn’t give it to anyone else, stay safe,

Dr. K

PS: Please don’t rely just on me. The best resource on what is happening specifically in the state of Georgia is Dr. Amber Schmidtke’s Daily Digest. More generally, I recommend the following: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation COVID-19 Update, aka The Optimist; for the science of viruses, especially the new coronavirus, This Week in Virology (TWiV) podcast; Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s podcast, Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction; COVID-19 UpToDate for medical professionals; and for the current numbers: Johns Hopkins University (JHU); Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME); Our World in Data (OWiD); The New York TimesCoronavirus Resource Center (NYT). For uncannily accurate warnings, follow @Laurie_Garrett on Twitter. With thanks to Prof. Craig Hadley, I also strongly recommend this COVID-19 Forecast Hub, which aggregates the data from dozens of mathematical models, and this integrative model based on machine learning, which has outperformed most others in its projections.