A quarter-century later, Giuliani tries to join 9/11 health program
Source: USA Today
May 7, 2026, 3:17 p.m. ET
Rudy Giuliani, who was hospitalized in Florida with pneumonia that his lawyer has attributed to toxic exposures after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, is just now applying for coverage under the World Trade Center Health Program.
Giuliani, 81, was hospitalized on May 3. His spokesperson, Ted Goodman, said the former New York City mayor was being treated for pneumonia.
Goodman also revealed that Giuliani was previously diagnosed with restrictive airway disease, attributing the octogenarian's illness to his exposure to pollutants at the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks when he was serving as mayor.
Michael Barasch, the attorney helping the former New York City mayor with his certification in the WTC Health Program, confirmed that Giuliani is only now applying to participate in the program, a quarter of a century later.
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/05/07/rudy-giuliani-september-11-coverage-pneumonia/89980049007/
Haggard Celine
(17,896 posts)BurnDoubt
(1,854 posts)soldierant
(9,372 posts)but I'd be more likely to believe it if the statement came from a dpctor rather than a ;awyer.
hlthe2b
(114,486 posts)susceptibility to infections. His alcoholism has been well documented. Chronic alcohol use negatively affects respiratory health, potentially causing irreversible damage to the lungs, thereby increasing susceptibility to infections and can have a worse prognosis from pneumonia.
The mechanisms through which alcoholism affects lung health include increases in oxidative stress to the lungs, damaging cells, impairing their function, altering the production of cytokines which impairs immune function and increasing susceptibility to pneumonia.
Worse still, alcoholics have a higher mortality rate from pneumonia due to weakened immune responses as well as to ARDS (Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome)--a potentially deadly complication leading to rapid lung failure.
Can I say with assuredness that he did not suffer exposure to the toxic components from 911? No. But, I can say his alcoholism is likely a major, if not THE MAJOR factor in his lung disease.