Trump mocked for question to doctor about coronavirus treatment
President Donald Trump has suggested a wild idea for battling the coronavirus which was quickly branded as “terrible, ineffective and potentially lethal idea” by an expert.
Today, during a White House briefing, President Trump spitballed a few radical suggestions on how to kill off the coronavirus once a person is already infected, after William Bryan head of science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security gave a presentation.
Since February, a biocontainment lab in Maryland has been conducting testing on the virus, and Mr Bryan said the new research suggested solar light has a powerful effect in killing the virus on surfaces and in the air.
He said scientists have seen a similar effect from higher temperatures and humidity.
“The virus is dying at a much more rapid pace just from exposure to higher temperatures and just from exposure to humidity,” Mr Bryan said.
President Trump then questioned if light could be used to kill off the virus inside the human body.
"So supposing we hit the body with a tremendous — whether it's ultraviolet or just a very powerful light — and I think you said that hasn't been checked because of the testing," Trump said, speaking to Bryan during the briefing.
"And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or some other way, and I think you said you're going to test that, too."
That wasn’t the only suggestion the president offered up.
“I see the disinfectant that knocks it [the virus] out in a minute, one minute,” he said.
“And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning? As you see, it gets in the lungs, it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.
Here is Dr. Birx's reaction when President Trump asks his science advisor to study using UV light on the human body and injecting disinfectant to fight the coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/MVno5X7JMA
— Daniel Lewis (@Daniel_Lewis3) April 24, 2020
“You’re going to have to use medical doctors.”
Trump accused of a ‘kindergarten level of comprehension’
Dr David Robert Grimes, a scientist, who did a PhD in medical ultraviolet radiation, and is an award-winning author quickly slammed the president’s radical suggestions.
“No, you cannot inject UV light into your body to cure #COVID19 - neither biology or physics work that way,” Dr Grimes Tweeted, adding “essentially” the president had a “kindergarten level of comprehension” on “everything”.
“No, shining high intensity UV through the skin won't work either,” he continued.
“Injecting or drinking disinfectant a terrible, ineffective, & potentially lethal idea. The man is surrounded by experts and chooses to pontificate on his own ignorance in a crisis.”
Mr Bryan said having more knowledge about this could help governors when making decisions about how and when to open their state economies.
However, he stressed that the emerging results of the light and heat studies do not replace social distancing recommendations.
...and before you @ me, no, shining high intensity UV through the skin won't work either. Injecting or drinking disinfectant a terrible, ineffective, & potentially lethal idea. The man is surrounded by experts & chooses to pontificate on his own ignorance in a crisis. 🙄
— Dr David Robert Grimes (@drg1985) April 23, 2020
‘I'm here to present ideas,’ says Trump
During the briefing, President Trump said he “hoped Americans enjoyed the sun”.
"I once mentioned that maybe it does go away with heat and light,” he boasted.
“And people didn't like that statement that much.”
However, places like Singapore that have high heat and sun exposure have seen coronavirus outbreaks.
"I'm here to present ideas," Trump said.
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As for what other experts think on whether heat kills the new coronavirus, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine analysed studies done so far to test virus survival and responded to questions from the White House Office of Science and Technology earlier this month.
“Given that countries currently in ‘summer’ climates, such as Australia and Iran, are experiencing rapid virus spread, a decrease in cases with increases in humidity and temperature elsewhere should not be assumed,” they said.
with Associated Press
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