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Trump grants emergency authorization for the usage of convalescent plasma to treat covid patients

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PHOTO CREDITS: YAKIMA HERALD

According to Fox News, President Donald Trump granted an emergency authorization for the usage of convalescent plasma to treat coronavirus patients on Sunday. President Trump called the treatment a “major breakthrough.” ~

Trump, speaking at a press conference Sunday, said “This is a powerful therapy that transfuses very very strong antibodies from the blood of recovered patients to help treat patients battling a current infection,” and added that the authorization will “expand access to this treatment.” President Trump also encouraged all recovered COVID-19 patients to donate their blood plasma, saying, “Based on the science and the data, the FDA has made the independent determination that the treatment is safe and very effective,” Trump said (Fox News). ~

The treatment takes convalescent plasma from patients who have recovered from the coronavirus and is rich in antibodies and gives it to patients who are currently battling the virus. Although it may be beneficial to those fighting COVID-19, the evidence has been inconclusive as to how well it works or how best to administer it. Additionally, there is no solid evidence that it fights the coronavirus or how best to use it, but the FDA, in announcing the emergency authorization for convalescent plasma said its benefits “outweigh the known and potential risks of the product and that there are no adequate, approved, and available alternative treatments.” Additionally, former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday said the convalescent plasma treatment is “probably beneficial.” ~

More than 64,000 patients in the U.S. have been given convalescent plasma. This tactic has been used for years to fend off different viruses – such as the flu and measles – before vaccines were available. This treatment is one that has been a reliable one for health experts to try when a new virus comes along, and history suggests it works against some, but not all, infections. ~

ARTICLE: KYLE SMITH

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