Fact check: Trump and his team spent the week lying about tests and cures

Donald Trump is exaggerating the availability of coronavirus tests in the U.S. as he urges governors to consider lifting stay-at-home orders and help get the economy moving again.

Over the weekend, he tweeted that the U.S. has tested more people than the major countries of the world “combined.” That’s nowhere close to reality. Together, just three “major countries” alone — Russia, Germany, and Italy — have tested more people than the U.S. And on another measure, more than 30 countries have tested a larger share of the population than the U.S. has done.

His statements came after a week in which his unproven ideas for fighting COVID-19 such as injecting disinfectants into people triggered an outcry from health officials everywhere. Trump also gave weight through his bully pulpit to an unproved theory that heat and humidity might hasten the destruction of the coronavirus,

Following his clashes with scientific experts, the White House is now taking steps to shift the president’s public focus to efforts aimed at easing the economic devastation caused by the pandemic.

A look at the past week’s rhetoric, including those from his veterans affairs secretary:

TESTING

TRUMP: “We have now Tested more than 5 Million People. That is more than any other country in the World, and even more than all major countries combined!” — tweet Saturday.

THE FACTS: Actually, the U.S. has tested far fewer people than “major countries combined” and lags dozens of countries in testing its population proportionally. Governors around the nation have stressed their decisions about lifting stay-at-home orders rest in part on the availability of testing and understanding the scope of how much the respiratory disease has spread.

Together, just three major countries — Russia, Germany and Italy — have tested about 6.5 million people, compared with over 5 million in the U.S. And the United States is easily outdistanced when testing in other Group of Seven countries is added to the mix, as well as powers such as India. Moreover, the count does not include China, which has more than four times the population of the U.S. but has not published national testing numbers.

More than 30 other countries have tested a larger share of the population than has been done in the U.S., which was slow to make COVID-19 diagnoses available and still can’t offer them to everyone who might be infected.

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DISINFECTANT

TRUMP, on the virus: “I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that … you’re going to have to use medical doctors … but it sounds — it sounds interesting to me.” — briefing Thursday.

THE FACTS: No.

The fact Trump would even flirt with the idea prompted a statement from Reckitt Benckiser, parent company of the maker of Lysol and Dettol, that “under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route).”

Clorox echoed that bleach and other disinfectants “are not suitable for consumption or injection under any circumstances.”

The U.S. surgeon general’s office moved to discourage people from thinking they can self-medicate with something in the house: “PLEASE always talk to your health provider first before administering any treatment/medication to yourself or a loved one.”

As the blowback unfolded, Trump said Friday he was being sarcastic the day before.

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SUNLIGHT AND HEAT

TRUMP, on an unproved theory that sunlight, heat, and humidity can destroy the virus faster than inside the house: “I hope people enjoy the sun. And if it has an impact, that’s great. … And if heat is good, and if sunlight is good, that’s a great thing as far as I’m concerned.” — briefing Thursday.

THE FACTS: Sunlight may be a disinfectant for the spirit and outdoor exercise is recommended in today’s social isolation, but there’s no proof it will make the pandemic go away. Without declaring that it would, Trump is again giving traction to a theory that could prompt people to let down their guard around others outside.

William Bryan, who leads the Homeland Security Department’s science and technology directorate, told the briefing about incomplete “emerging results” from research that suggest solar light, heat, and humidity might be effective at neutralizing the virus. Past studies have not found good evidence of that.

Dr. Michael Ryan, the World Health Organization’s emergencies chief, said in March that “it’s a false hope to say yes, it will just disappear in the summertime like influenza.” Trump said early in the outbreak he expected it to end with the warmer weather of April.

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ROUND 2

TRUMP, on the chances of the virus returning in the fall: “If it does come back — it’s not going to come back — and I’ve spoken to 10 different people, it’s not going to be like it was. … If we have embers of corona coupled with the flu, that’s not going to be pleasant, but it’s not going to be what we’ve gone through in any way, shape, or form. … You may not even have corona coming back, just so you understand.” — briefing Wednesday.

THE FACTS: His public health officials refuted his statement on the spot that the coronavirus won’t be coming back. As for his statement that it won’t be as bad in a second round, that’s more complicated.

“There will be coronavirus in the fall,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said at the briefing. “I am convinced of that because of the degree of transmissibility that it has, the global nature.”

“Next fall and winter, we’re going to have two viruses circulating, and we’re going to have to distinguish between which is flu and which is the coronavirus,” said Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

How bad that will be will be determined by a range of factors that can’t be predicted with precision. Redfield said the situation may be more difficult than now because the coronavirus and the flu will be circulating at the same time, unlike during the bulk of the current pandemic. Or it may be less difficult if preparations and containment are better than now.

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MALARIA DRUG

VA SECRETARY ROBERT WILKIE, asked whether it’s safe to encourage people to take hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 treatment: “Oh, I think so.” — interview Wednesday on MSNBC.

THE FACTS: That’s not what the government’s top health experts have said for weeks, nor what his own agency has suggested. A new alert Friday from the Food and Drug Administration further underscored why the drug cannot be considered generally safe in this pandemic and why it has not been approved by the FDA for treatment of COVID-19.

Last month, the FDA authorized the narrow emergency use of the malaria drugs for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who aren’t enrolled in ongoing clinical trials. But regulators said they are investigating life-threatening side effects reported to poison control centers and other health authorities.

In one such report, doctors at a New York hospital said that heart rhythm abnormalities developed in most of the 84 coronavirus patients treated with hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin, a combination Trump has promoted as part of his persistent and inaccurate portrayal of the malaria drug as a game-changer.

The drug has long been used to treat malaria, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus. A few very small preliminary studies suggested it might help prevent the coronavirus from entering cells and possibly help patients clear the virus sooner.

Wilkie, as VA secretary, leads the nation’s largest health system. His agency’s own health care arm has criticized premature assessments on the effectiveness of the drug for the coronavirus. In an unsigned response to an audit report last month examining whether the VA had adequate stocks of the drug, top VA health officials called it “inaccurate and irresponsible” to assume hydroxychloroquine would benefit veterans for COVID-19.

“There are active investigations into these drugs and many others, as discussed by Dr. Anthony Fauci,” according to the unsigned VA response to the agency’s inspector general. “Yet no conclusions have been made on their effectiveness. To insist that a 14 days’ supply of these drugs is appropriate or not appropriate displays this dangerous lack of expertise on COVID-19 and Pandemic response.”

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WILKIE, on a nationwide study finding that a malaria drug had no benefit for treating COVID-19 among veterans: “That’s an observational study. It’s not a clinical study. It was done on a small number of veterans. Sadly, those of whom were in the last stages of life. And the drug was given to them. And I have to also say that the drug — we know the drug has been working on middle-age and younger veterans … working in stopping the progression of the disease.” — MSNBC interview.

THE FACTS: He mischaracterized the study’s finding.

Wilkie rejected a study that relies on his department’s own hospital data and finds no benefit from hydroxychloroquine. His claim that it helps younger or middle-aged veterans with COVID-19 is also unsubstantiated.

It’s true that the study, done by independent researchers at two universities with VA approval, was not a rigorous experiment. Yet with 368 patients, it’s the largest look so far at hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19, based on VA hospital data.

Researchers analyzed medical records of male veterans hospitalized with confirmed coronavirus infection at Veterans Health Administration medical centers who died or were discharged by April 11.

About 28% who were given hydroxychloroquine plus usual care died, versus 11% of those getting routine care alone.

Even though people given the drug tended to be sicker than the comparison group, researchers statistically adjusted for that and still saw no benefit from the drug.

There is no other published evidence that the drug is safe or effective for younger veterans with COVID-19.