As a pulmonologist and intensive care physician who has treated COVID-19 patients at NYU Langone Health, where I practice, I know full well that the disease caused by the coronavirus can be quite serious — and fatal in some cases. But importantly, I also know that the vast majority of COVID-19 patients recover from the disease.
The statistics tell the story. The confirmed death toll in the U.S. from COVID-19 is 208,520 at this writing — certainly a tragic toll. But there have been more than 7.3 million confirmed cases of the disease in this country. The overwhelming majority of patients infected with the coronavirus have fully recovered.
It is my heartfelt prayer that President Trump and first lady Melania Trump, who has also tested positive, will be among those who recover from COVID-19. The odds are certainly in their favor.
The president is not and never has been my patient. I have never examined him and I don’t have access to his medical records. But based on news reports and statements from the White House, it appears to me that the main reason he has been hospitalized is because of the importance of his position as leader of our nation, rather than because of the seriousness of his condition.