I’ve been asked both personally about how I’m doing, and professionally about the POTUS #COVID19 situation.

Any official updates on @POTUS will come from the White House, but here’s a of my personal status/ thoughts/ advice. (1/?)

To the best of my knowledge, I have not had close contact with anyone who has tested positive for #COVID19. I was tested recently as part of routine precautions, and was negative. I currently have no symptoms suggestive of COVID. (2/?)

Regarding POTUS, it would be inappropriate for me to release any of his medical information if I had it (though I do not- I’m the Nation’s Doctor -not the President’s), and ethically all doctors need to be VERY careful when speculating about a patient they aren’t treating. (3/?)

Disclaimers aside, here’s what we know in general, and based on what’s been publicly released. POTUS appears to have been diagnosed early on in disease onset, which is good for him, good for contact tracing & good for limiting further spread.

Surveillance testing works. (4/?)

It is impossible at this point to pinpoint exactly when, where, and from whom POTUS was infected. From a purely medical standpoint, it is wrong and irresponsible to suggest any particular action “caused” it. Even when doing everything right, some have still been infected. (5/n)

That said, there are things we know likely raise your risk (crowds, indoor spaces), and those that lower your risk (wash hands, wear masks, watch distances).

To protect yourself AND those around you, you should try to minimize risk whenever you can. (6/?)

I have always advised people to know their risk, so they can make informed choices about how to stay safe from #COVID19.

POTUS falls into two higher risk categories based on his publicly released info, according to @CDCgov - based on age and based on weight. (7/?)

Some very good news- thanks to improved knowledge about treating the virus, plus new therapies like Remdesivir, hospital length of stay and case fatality rates have significantly decreased since earlier this year.

I.e. you now are much more likely to survive #COVID19 (8/?)

Even with better therapies and much change of survival, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

So wear a mask. Wash your hands. And watch your distance. The 3 Ws really do work, and will bridge us to herd immunity with a vaccine later this year or early next. (9/?)

I wish POTUS, FLOTUS, and EVERYONE infected with this virus a full and speedy recovery.

Your chances of surviving it have never been higher, but your chances of preventing it are what we must stay focused on.

Prevention leads to more lives saved and more places open! (10/?)

And speaking of prevention- Over 35 million people were diagnosed w/ flu last year. When at home/work/ school/ in public, you don’t want the hassle of worrying about having #covid19, because you didn’t get vaccinated and got the flu. #sleeveup! (Fin) https://twitter.com/surgeon_general/status/1311751085145690114?s=21