Pres. Donald Trump
(Screenshot)
Late Friday afternoon, hours after President Donald Trump announced he had tested positive for coronavirus, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany posted an update on the president’s health and treatment, revealing that Trump has received a dose of a drug still in the testing phase.
According to the “update from President @RealDonaldTrump’s physician,” Trump “received a single 8 gram dose of Regeneron’s polyclonal antibody cocktail.” The president has also been taking zinc, vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and a daily aspirin, Trump’s doctor notes.
“As of this afternoon the president remains fatigued but in good spirits,” the update reports.
As CNN reported on Tuesday, two days before Trump’s announcement that he had tested positive for coronavirus, preliminary test results of Regeneron’s antibody cocktail released earlier that day suggest it reduces both levels and symptoms of the coronavirus. The desired effect of Regeneron’s cocktail is “to trap and shut down viral replication,” CNN reports in its overview of the drug:
“A cocktail antibody therapy uses two or more lab-engineered antibodies. Regeneron’s cocktail includes a monoclonal antibody that targets the spike protein the virus uses to drill into healthy cells, and another antibody that targets a different part of the novel coronavirus. With two, the hope is to trap and shut down viral replication.”
Regeneron is petitioning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to grant an emergency authorization of its cocktail.
An update from President @realDonaldTrump‘s physician: pic.twitter.com/cTsXO4Df6b
— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) October 2, 2020
