Donald Trump Declares He's 'Immune' After Coronavirus Diagnosis, Twitter Flags for Disinformation

Twitter flagged another one of President Donald Trump's tweets, this time for claiming he is [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Twitter flagged another one of President Donald Trump's tweets, this time for claiming he is "immune" to the coronavirus after he was treated for symptoms over the past week. There is no evidence proving that once a person tests positive for the coronavirus and then negative that they cannot contract the virus again. The White House has also not confirmed when Trump last tested negative for the virus, and physician Dr. Sean Conley's last update on the president's health did not say he has.

"A total and complete sign off from White House Doctors yesterday. That means I can't get it (immune), and can't give it. Very nice to know!!!" Trump tweeted Sunday morning. Twitter put a note on the tweet almost immediately, noting the message "violated the Twitter Rules about spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19."

"We placed a public interest notice on [President Trump's] Tweet for violating our Covid-19 Misleading Information Policy by making misleading health claims about Covid-19," a Twitter spokesperson told CNN. "As is standard with this public interest notice, engagements with the Tweet will be significantly limited." Trump's team posted the same message on his Facebook account, but no message was put on it about spreading misleading information.

In recent days, Trump has claimed he is immune to the virus after Conley said he could resume public activities. During another interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Trump said he "beat this crazy, horrible China virus." Trump claimed it "looks like I'm immune for, I don't know, maybe a long time, maybe a short time... It could be a lifetime. Nobody really knows, but I'm immune."

There is no concrete evidence to suggest that someone who already had the coronavirus is now immune to it. According to the Associated Press, a person might "have some immunity," but it is not clear for how long. There have been documented cases of reinfection, but they have been very rare. It is also not clear if someone who was reinfected but shows no symptoms could transmit it to another person, so health experts insist people who have recovered from COVID-19 need to wear face masks, follow social distancing guidelines and keep good hygiene to protect others.

Trump announced he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus on Oct. 2, and he spent the following weekend being treated at Walter Reed Medical Center. He was released on Oct. 5. On Saturday, Conley said Trump met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's criteria for the "safe discontinuation of isolation" and is "no longer considered a transmission risk to others." That afternoon, Trump spoke to supporters from the White House balcony. He is scheduled to host a rally in Sanford, Florida on Monday.

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