Why the next few days are ‘the real test’ in Donald Trump’s Covid-19 battle
- Doctors will be watching closely for signs of rapid deterioration in Donald Trump’s health
- That can occur when the immune system, unable to target the virus, causes widespread collateral damage
US President Donald Trump’s battle with Covid-19 will come to a critical turning point in the next few days as the disease tests his immune system.
On Saturday, Trump and his doctors acknowledged the importance of the coming days as the illness enters what White House doctor Dr Sean Conley called “phase 2”.
The course of Covid-19 can be highly variable, but the next three to five days are likely to be crucial, say doctors who have treated hundreds of coronavirus patients.
Several days after symptoms of Covid-19 appear, the body’s immune system must make an important switch to fight the virus with precision – or possibly face life-threatening consequences.
Covid-19 patients can “look pretty good for a few days, then they go south,” said Dr William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University.
That rapid deterioration can occur when the body’s immune system, unable to successfully target the virus, causes widespread collateral damage as it “brings in the troops”, Schaffner said.