The steroid doctors have administered to President Trump is recommended for use by only the most severe COVID patients who are having severe trouble breathing, NBC News reports.
Dexamethasone works by reducing inflammation in and around the lungs, allowing the cardiopulmonary system to function more efficiently. The National Institutes of Health, however, do not recommend using the drug in mild cases of coronavirus because it can speed the replication of the virus.
Dr. Sean Conley, the White House physician, admitted that he did not give complete information during his Saturday briefing, saying that he didn’t intend to mislead, but also inferring that he wasn’t “necessarily” trying to mislead people.
“I didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction,” he said. “In doing so it came off that we were trying to hide something, which wasn’t necessarily true. The fact of the matter is, he is doing really well.”