Trump Administration Housing Secretary Ben Carson says he is “out of the woods” from the grips of COVID-19, and is crediting unapproved, experimental treatments with saving his life, but there is no medical evidence that those treatments worked.
The retired neurosurgeon, who tested positive earlier this month, also confirmed that his wife, Candy, was also infected.
Carson is one of a growing list of Trump Administration officials who contracted coronavirus. The president, First Lady Melania and now, the president’s son Donald Jr., also fell ill with the virus.
Despite warnings, Trump, his staff and his immediate family have refused to wear masks in public the majority of the time. They are often seen at large public events wearing no PPE.
Coronavirus has killed more than 250,000 Americans and infected more than 12 million.
Carson admitted that he has access to more medical care than most Americans.
He credited President Trump, the White House medical team and doctors at the Walter Reed military hospital for his recovery.
He said the president, “cleared me for the monoclonal antibody therapy that he had previously received, which I am convinced saved my life.”
In a statement posted on Facebook, Carson said he was “extremely sick” but saw “dramatic improvement” after taking a botanical treatment derived from the oleander plant. Carson said he has underlying conditions, which he did not specify, “and after a brief period when I only experienced minor discomfort, the symptoms accelerated, and I became desperately ill.”
Carson said he took Oleander 4X, but there’s no evidence that the treatment or any other homeopathic medicine works against COVID-19. Carson faced scrutiny when he advocated for Oleander, with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.
“I do believe I am out of the woods at this point,” he said.
