By Jon Greenberg - PolitiFact
President Donald Trump's announcement that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus adds a powerful and unpredictable factor to the presidential election.
Trump was flown Friday night to Walter Reed Military Medical Center in the presidential helicopter, without the first lady, who has a minor cough.
Before that, the White House confirmed that Trump suffered from a mild fever and fatigue, and was treated with an experimental antibody cocktail.
The vast majority of people who test positive for the coronavirus experience no or only mild effects.
Based on what we now know, the odds of Trump getting around COVID-19 are in his favor.
[Follow our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic]
But the president has two risk factors: his age and his weight.
"I'm concerned," Dr. Vin Gupta, a pulmonologist and professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, said on the NBC News Today Show on Friday.
"I've seen several patients with that dual factor," Gupta said.
"If they get sick, if they are symptomatic, they can escalate quickly and need care in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit)."
Trump's health
In June 2020, Presidential physician Sean Conley argued in front of the press that Trump weighed 244 pounds, about 111 kilos.
At 6 feet 3 inches (1.92 meters) tall, the president has a body mass index of 30.5.
A measurement greater than 30
indicates obesity.
Trump is 74 years old.
In May, Conley said Trump was "in very good health."
Back then, Trump highlighted the benefits of using hydroxychloroquine to prevent coronavirus.
We do not know how much of this medicine you have been taking or if you continue to use it, but there are few signs that it is effective.
Reports from Trump's official doctor in the White House show that the president has struggled with high cholesterol, but aggressive use of rosuvastatin has lowered its levels.
His total cholesterol was 167 and his LDL, the so-called "bad cholesterol," was less than 100. Any number below 100 is considered optimal.
[Follow our coverage of the 2020 presidential elections]
In 2018, a coronary calcium CT scan showed that he had a score of 133. A number greater than 100 indicates the presence of plaque, which translates to
mild heart disease.
Trump made an unscheduled visit to Walter Reed Hospital in November 2019, staying there for just over two hours.
His press secretary said Trump was taking advantage of a weekend off for tests that were part of his regular checkups.
When questions arose about that visit, Trump described it as a routine checkup.
The issue faded until September, when Michael Schmidt, a reporter for The New York Times, said in a book that he had learned that an alert had been issued at the White House for Vice President Mike Pence to be ready "to take over in a very temporary powers of the presidency if Trump had to undergo a procedure that would have required him to be anesthetized. "
Pence said he doesn't recall being alerted, and Schmidt said the episode remained a mystery.
The virus, age and obesity
Dr. David Hamer, professor of infectious diseases at the Boston University School of Public Health and Medical School, said
Trump's age is his biggest risk factor.
"A person in your age group has an 8% to 12% chance of getting seriously ill," he said.
That is based on extensive studies in Italy and China.
In the China study, the risk of death for people aged 65 to 74 was half that of people aged 75 and over.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention point to a body mass index greater than 30 as a factor that increases the "risk of developing a severe illness due to COVID-19."
But most of the studies that support that focused on people with a body mass index of 35 or more.
Trump barely reaches the obesity range.
[Trump says the COVID-19 vaccine will be ready in October. But this is unlikely]
A study in the United States found a higher risk for people with a body mass index in the range of 30 to 34.9, but the magnitude of the higher risk varied widely, from almost no risk to very limited impact.
In other words, it is difficult to define.
In general,
men are at higher risk than women.
Globally, more men than women have died from COVID-19, but researchers don't know exactly why.
Dr. Josh Denson, a pulmonary medicine and intensive care specialist at Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans, told NBC News that it is rare for a person to become seriously ill during the first few days of infection.
"This could take a long time," Denson said.
"If he recovers, it won't be for a week. But some patients became critically ill more than 2 to 3 weeks after the initial infection."
This data verification was translated into Spanish by Andrea López-Cruzado thanks to the FactChat agreement, coordinated by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) with the support of WhatsApp. The objective of the project is to bring better information in Spanish during the US presidential elections in 2020. This and other political checks can be received directly by WhatsApp by clicking here or by registering the number +1 727-477-2212 and writing " Hello "in the first message. We will wait for you.
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