Coronavirus-stricken President Donald Trump, 74, has been given an experimental treatment designed to combat the disease, the White House said.

Mr Trump's gender, age and weight make him more vulnerable to developing severe Covid-19, and give him a notional risk of around 4 per cent of dying from it, health experts said.

What is the experimental treatment Mr Trump is taking?

Mr Trump is taking an antibody cocktail, the use of which has been reported to improve symptoms in non-hospitalised Covid-19 patients, with no serious side effects in trials.

The manufactured copies of human antibodies to Covid-19 are designed to fight the virus immediately. United States infectious diseases chief Anthony Fauci is among those saying it shows promise.

What else is Mr Trump taking?

Mr Trump's doctor said the President is taking several medicines, including:

• Vitamin D and mineral zinc, both of which are important to the immune system.

• Heartburn drug famotidine, which researchers are studying as a potential treatment.

• Melatonin, a sleep aid.

• Aspirin, which Mr Trump has previously said he takes daily. It can help avoid heart attacks and is a fever reducer.

How about hydroxychloroquine?

Mr Trump early in the pandemic backed the idea of using anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) briefly allowed its use before saying in June it had determined hydroxychloroquine was not effective.

What happens if Mr Trump's condition worsens?

For patients hospitalised with Covid-19, the FDA has given emergency-use authorisation for two treatments: Veklury, also known as remdesivir, an intravenous antiviral drug shown to shorten hospital stays, and convalescent plasma, which is derived from the blood of people who have survived the disease. Mr Trump has received a first dose of remdesivir, his doctor said on Friday.

REUTERS