The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Sunday, revealed that it has authorized the use of blood plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 as treatment for the disease.
This is coming barely a day after he accused the agency of delaying the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics for political reasons. The announcement of the emergency use authorization of the treatment is coming on the eve of the Republican National Convention, where Trump is expected to be nominated to lead his party for another 4 years.
The FDA, which appears to be in a rush with the announcement, disclosed that early evidence suggests blood plasma can decrease mortality and improve the health of patients when administered in the first 3 days of their hospitalization.
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The Director of the FDA’s Centre for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Peter Marks, on a conference call with reporters, said, ‘’It appeared that the product is safe and we’re comfortable with that and we continue to see no concerning safety signals.’’
The FDA while explaining its decision, cited early evidence suggesting blood plasma can decrease mortality and improve the health of patients when administered in the first 3 days of their hospitalization.
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The FDA said that it recommended it as safe in an analysis of 20,000 patients who received this treatment. The agency revealed that 70,000 patients have so far been treated using blood plasma.
The agency also noted that patients who benefitted the most from this treatment are those under 80 years old and who were not on a respirator. Such patients had a 35% better survival rate a month after receiving the treatment.
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Plasma is referred to as the element of blood that carries water, enzymes and blood cells throughout the body. It also carries the antibodies humans form to fight off disease and boost immunity.
Supplies of plasma has been limited because they require that a recovered Covid-19 patient donate blood and that it matches the blood type of the recipient