It's important for people hearing the messages of optimism coming from President Donald Trump and the White House over the progression of the president's fight against COVID to not be less vigilant about the disease, Dr. Mehmet Oz said Tuesday.
"We've got huge opportunities and I don't want anyone hearing any of these messages to misconstrue optimism with a desire to lighten up a little bit," Oz said on Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "We've got to buckle down until we have the vaccine."
Trump said he might be "immune" to the virus after he came back to the White House Monday night from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He has been given several drugs to treat the infection, including an antibody cocktail, a steroid, and an antiviral drug, and he is continuing treatment at the White House.
The president also said that Americans shouldn't be afraid of COVID or let it dominate their lives.
"Medical advances have been quite dramatic," said Oz. "We don't have a cure for this virus, but I suspect that the chances of getting admitted to an ICU are 25% less than it was when the virus first hit our shores and I'm proud that medicine has continued to advance the ball."
Still, Oz said, it is "absolutely essential" that the virus is respected.
"When you look around the world at countries that have been able to weather the storm of COVID-19, they always respect the virus which means wearing masks, social distancing, the things we know matter," said Oz.
The doctor said he does agree with the decision to send Trump back to the White House for recovery, but pointed out that it's not like the president was sent home.
"The White House is so well-equipped you can do just about everything," said Oz. "He will get the fifth dose of Remdesivir, which is a drug that blocks the replication of the virus inside his cells, and he can get anything else he would require there as well."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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