Rep.-Elect Letlow Transferred to ICU as He Battles COVID-19

Congressman-elect Luke Letlow in a file photograph. (Courtesy of Luke Letlow's campaign)

Rep.-elect Luke Letlow (R-La.) was moved to an intensive care unit at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Academic Medical Center in Shreveport, Louisiana, for treatment of COVID-19, a spokesman said in a Dec. 23 statement.

Letlow, 41, had been receiving care at the St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe since Dec. 19.

“Congressman-elect Letlow is in stable condition in the intensive care unit, where he is receiving remdesivir and steroids as part of his regimen therapy,” Dr. G.E. Ghali, chancellor of the medical center, said.

Remdesivir is an antiviral that is being used under emergency use authorization from drug regulators against COVID-19, a disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Remdesivir was used by doctors to treat President Donald Trump for COVID-19 earlier this year.

Steroids also have shown some success against the disease.

Letlow’s spokesman said that the congressman-elect’s family “deeply appreciate[s] the medical team at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe for their fantastic care, and is thankful for all of the prayers and support they continue to receive.”

The elderly and people with compromised immune systems primarily suffer severe cases of COVID-19. Some patients require hospital care, and a small percentage die, but most people who contract the illness recover.

Letlow was admitted to the hospital on Dec. 19 at the recommendation of his doctors, a day after he announced he had tested positive, a spokesman said.

“I’m at home resting, following all CDC guidelines, quarantine protocols, and the recommendations of my doctors,” he wrote in a tweet.

Letlow won the seat representing Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District with 62 percent of the vote in a runoff on Dec. 5. The seat was vacated by Rep. Ralph Abraham, a Republican who retired.