Trump Wanted FDA To Fast-Track blood Plasma Therapy. But What Is It?
President Trump suggested in recent comments that there is a treatment for COVID-19 that members of his own administration are slow-walking to thwart his reelection bid.
The remedy is something known as convalescent plasma. Since April, the Food and Drug Administration has been encouraging efforts to broaden the use of convalescent plasma and analyze its safety and efficacy.
The idea is that individuals who've been sickened with COVID-19 then regained will have antibodies in their blood that helped them fight off the disease. By providing that convalescent plasma to ill patients, those antibodies should in theory enable a patient currently sick with COVID-19 recover. It's an approach to treating pandemic diseases that's existed for a century or longer.
Blood serum from recovered COVID-19 patients is also being studied as a means of preventing the disease.
It's still unclear whether plasma therapy are effective for individuals with COVID-19. A recent non-peer-reviewed study published online reported on more than 30,000 patients getting convalescent plasma; it revealed that the more antibodies that there were in a specific batch of convalescent plasma, the more successful the plasma was in preventing death.
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However, the study was lacking a control group, in other words, a group getting a sham injection, therefore it is difficult to make firm decisions about the results. Other studies have failed to show a definitive benefit.
Nonetheless, according to press reports, the FDA was near granting emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma when many senior officers at the National Institutes of Health increased hostility. The NIH scientists argued that the evidence for the treatment's efficacy was lean.
When asked about this in a press conference, President Trump was surprised. "It could be a political choice as you've got a lot of people over there that do not wish to hurry things because they wish to do it after Nov. 3"
The president said he would consult with the FDA after the news conference.
Although the emergency use authorization would have made the access to the plasma considerably simpler for doctors, patients do still have access to convalescent plasma therapy. It is available today under an expanded access program that permits compassionate use. Doctors who believe it can be useful can still obtain it for their own patients.
President Trump suggested in recent comments that there is a treatment for COVID-19 that members of his own administration are slow-walking to thwart his reelection bid.
The remedy is something known as convalescent plasma. Since April, the Food and Drug Administration has been encouraging efforts to broaden the use of convalescent plasma and analyze its safety and efficacy.
The idea is that individuals who've been sickened with COVID-19 then regained will have antibodies in their blood that helped them fight off the disease. By providing that convalescent plasma to ill patients, those antibodies should in theory enable a patient currently sick with COVID-19 recover. It's an approach to treating pandemic diseases that's existed for a century or longer.
Blood serum from recovered COVID-19 patients is also being studied as a means of preventing the disease.
It's still unclear whether plasma therapy are effective for individuals with COVID-19. A recent non-peer-reviewed study published online reported on more than 30,000 patients getting convalescent plasma; it revealed that the more antibodies that there were in a specific batch of convalescent plasma, the more successful the plasma was in preventing death.
Sign Up For Your New Normal Newsletter
Daily information on the coronavirus catastrophe and assist getting through whatever comes next. We're in this together.
E-mail speech
By comparison, you agree to NPR's terms of use and privacy policy. NPR may share your name and email address with your NPR station. See Details. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Conditions of Service apply.
However, the study was lacking a control group, in other words, a group getting a sham injection, therefore it is difficult to make firm decisions about the results. Other studies have failed to show a definitive benefit.
Nonetheless, according to press reports, the FDA was near granting emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma when many senior officers at the National Institutes of Health increased hostility. The NIH scientists argued that the evidence for the treatment's efficacy was lean.
When asked about this in a press conference, President Trump was surprised. "It could be a political choice as you've got a lot of people over there that do not wish to hurry things because they wish to do it after Nov. 3"
The president said he would consult with the FDA after the news conference.
Although the emergency use authorization would have made the access to the plasma considerably simpler for doctors, patients do still have access to convalescent plasma therapy. It is available today under an expanded access program that permits compassionate use. Doctors who believe it can be useful can still obtain it for their own patients.