Today Show Medical Expert Joseph Fair

[Pink Partridge]

Did any of you watch the interview with Joseph Fair this morning on The Today Show?

It was from his hospital bed. He said he had the coronavirus. But tested negative FOUR times. He blamed it on the tests (from three different companies). And stated as fact the tests aren't accurate.

Hoda said "Clearly you have it", referring to coronavirus.

It was honestly a confusing interview. Are there no other illnesses remaining in this world that this doctor is claiming he definitely has coronavirus, even though he tested negative 4 times?

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I did not watch it live, but watched the video: Dr. Joseph Fair details his COVID-19 battle

I came away thinking that he should not have done the interview. He did not say if his "official" diagnosis is COVID. He has COVID symptoms but 4 different negative test results, so why would they put him on TV as a COVID patient? Not sure why he has not had antibody tests. There are antibody tests that are 99%+ accurate available right now.

This interview muddies the waters and makes people question reporting about the disease. It helped no one.

 

[HeatherC]

They put him on to generate ratings. They don’t care at all if things are actually accurate.

 

[MrsBooch]

I did not watch it live, but watched the video: Dr. Joseph Fair details his COVID-19 battle

I came away thinking that he should not have done the interview. He did not say if his "official" diagnosis is COVID. He has COVID symptoms but 4 different negative test results, so why would they put him on TV as a COVID patient? Not sure why he has not had antibody tests. There are antibody tests that are 99%+ accurate available right now.

This interview muddies the waters and makes people question reporting about the disease. It helped no one.

At this point - unfortunately - i'm thinking no one cares about how harmful it is to share unclear, potentially false information, as long as it's "new" they will air it.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

That was a joke, complete with him laying down as well when he looked perfectly capable of sitting up and looking a tad more professional. His breathing was not labored etc, he looked well. Ratings... there are other illnesses. If you do not test positive for Covid assume you do NOT have it, don't assume you DO have it @@

 

[Pink Partridge]

It helped no one.

I was thinking along these lines as well.

Why test people at all if this expert is on television saying tests are 50% inaccurate?

Also weird was he stated the doctors asked him if he wanted to be intubated. He said "No". So they just upped his oxygen and he started to improve. As if the doctors didn't think to do that first? And he was surrounded by intubated patients. But, somehow, his increased oxygen got him out of critical condition.

Did the doctors ask everyone if they wanted to be intubated and they said yes? Is it actually a choice? A discussion? "Hey. Do you want to be intubated? No? Ok. Let's try the less invasive oxygen increase. Well, what do you know! It worked!"

It was just all so weird. I love Hoda. And was so disappointed she said that he clearly had Coronavirus by just looking at a man on oxygen. I never thought she would stoop for ratings.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I was thinking along these lines as well.

Why test people at all if this expert is on television saying tests are 50% inaccurate?

Also weird was he stated the doctors asked him if he wanted to be intubated. He said "No". So they just upped his oxygen and he started to improve. As if the doctors didn't think to do that first? And he was surrounded by intubated patients. But, somehow, his increased oxygen got him out of critical condition.

Did the doctors ask everyone if they wanted to be intubated and they said yes? Is it actually a choice? A discussion? "Hey. Do you want to be intubated? No? Ok. Let's try the less invasive oxygen increase. Well, what do you know! It worked!"

It was just all so weird. I love Hoda. And was so disappointed she said that he clearly had Coronavirus by just looking at a man on oxygen. I never thought she would stoop for ratings.

For the intubation - it is now used a lot less in COVID patients because it doesn't help as much as they thought - and it often does more harm than good. There are articles out there about that. If I got COVID, I would ask not to be intubated. Place me on my stomach and increase the O2 flow through the cannulas.

But this interview did nothing to help viewers understand why he made that choice.

 

[Hikergirl]

I read an article that states he tested negative 4 times and he says it's because he waited too long to get tested. I didn't watch the Today show so I don't know what he said the reason was there.
I think it is very disengenuous to go on a National TV show and state that you do have the virus when you have tested negative for it, not just once but multiple times. Also for a host to state "you clearly have it" when without an actual positive result that is not clear at all.
It really makes me questions one's motive for such an act.
How about do some interviews of real people- those on the front line who are fighting to keep confirmed COVID patients alive. or people who have recovered from it to tell their stories.
stop showcasing people who want to have it for your ratings or other reasons.

 

[dclpluto]

Fake news. NBC is almost the leader in fake news.

 

[BrianL]

Yeah, I mean, I could certainly believe a test could be innaccurate, but 4 of them? That becomes unlikely. I don't specifically know what the failure rate on the testing is, but if it's really that high then that's a major problem. It seems pretty irresponsible to report that with no real evidence.

 

[cabanafrau]

If you get influenza and don't test until a week or more after becoming ill is it possible that you did indeed have influenza and yet a week or more later when tested it does not show on the test?

Not sure, but I would not be surprised to find out that can in fact happen. If so it may explain how someone displaying strong signs of having covid to the point of requiring critical care in the hospital could test negative when tested a week or so after onset of symptoms.

I'd be interested in seeing what happens if he is tested for antibodies.

 

[anniemae]

I have a friend who is a nurse and she said that many of the covid tests are coming up with false negatives. Not sure if it's true or not.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

If you get influenza and don't test until a week or more after becoming ill is it possible that you did indeed have influenza and yet a week or more later when tested it does not show on the test?

Not sure, but I would not be surprised to find out that can in fact happen. If so it may explain how someone displaying strong signs of having covid to the point of requiring critical care in the hospital could test negative when tested a week or so after onset of symptoms.

I'd be interested in seeing what happens if he is tested for antibodies.

Keep in mind that he was still in the hospital being treated when he tested negative. The tests did not come after he went home.

 

[cabanafrau]

Keep in mind that he was still in the hospital being treated when he tested negative. The tests did not come after he went home.

Keep in mind he was home ill a week before he was admitted to the hospital after his breathing became compromised and he realized his lungs were struggling.

ETA This is a new virus which not much is known about, including how long the test might reveal the presence of the virus in your system. As a non medical person I'm not even sure how long influenza would show up on the test of someone who genuinely did have influenza, or whether the particular strain of influenza might affect how long it remains detectable. That's what I'm raising the question about in this case, and in general.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Keep in mind he was home ill a week before he was admitted to the hospital after his breathing became compromised and he realized his lungs were struggling.

Agreed.

No one is saying that he does not have it. This disease is a mess to figure out, so almost anything is possible. And he certainly has the symptoms. But there is room to doubt, and his interview muddies the waters. We really don't need muddy waters right now. We don't need people to have more reasons to distrust what they hear about the disease.

If in doubt, leave it out.

 

[disneychrista]

There is a false positive rate of like 20%. But if four tests all came back negative I’m gonna say he doesn’t have it.

 

[cabanafrau]

Agreed.

No one is saying that he does not have it. This disease is a mess to figure out, so almost anything is possible. And he certainly has the symptoms. But there is room to doubt, and his interview muddies the waters. We really don't need muddy waters right now. We don't need people to have more reasons to distrust what they hear about the disease.

If in doubt, leave it out.

I don't know if he does or does not/did not have it. Apparently the medical professionals treating many patients with the virus firmly believe he has/had it. At this point I'm prepared to accept that as reasonable evidence that he does/did, although not definitively proven. Antibody tests will be interesting, for him and pretty much for everyone for that matter.

 

[Colleen27]

If you get influenza and don't test until a week or more after becoming ill is it possible that you did indeed have influenza and yet a week or more later when tested it does not show on the test?

Not sure, but I would not be surprised to find out that can in fact happen. If so it may explain how someone displaying strong signs of having covid to the point of requiring critical care in the hospital could test negative when tested a week or so after onset of symptoms.

I'd be interested in seeing what happens if he is tested for antibodies.

I don't know about flu, but people who have had COVID19 are returning positive tests for weeks after symptoms subside. Some for over a month. So it seems unlikely that he waited so long to seek testing or treatment that he's no longer testing positive.

I agree an antibody test would be interesting, but that doesn't change that fact that verifying something *before* reporting it is a fundamental standard of journalism that was deliberately disregarded here for the sake of a "shocking" segment.

 

[wilbret]

I did not watch it live, but watched the video: Dr. Joseph Fair details his COVID-19 battle

I came away thinking that he should not have done the interview. He did not say if his "official" diagnosis is COVID. He has COVID symptoms but 4 different negative test results, so why would they put him on TV as a COVID patient? Not sure why he has not had antibody tests. There are antibody tests that are 99%+ accurate available right now.

This interview muddies the waters and makes people question reporting about the disease. It helped no one.

It's like Covid has cured everything else. Nobody can catch the Flu, or have other ailments... I also heard that early tests could show positive when testing....water.

 

[wilbret]

There is a false positive rate of like 20%. But if four tests all came back negative I’m gonna say he doesn’t have it.

Also curious how these tests are handling mutations?