2020 News

A Little Debate on Plasma Is Healthy for Science - Opinion

“The FDA says it's likely effective, while NIH urges caution. The answer: get more data from trials. ”

FDA Made the Right Call on Covid Plasma Treatment - Opinion

How Politics Muddied the Waters on a Promising COVID-19 Treatment

“On the eve of the Republic National Convention, Trump pressured the FDA to allow emergency use of convalescent plasma- before the agency was ready to do so. ”

How Politics Muddied the Waters on a Promising COVID-19 Treatment

“On the eve of the Republic National Convention, Trump pressured the FDA to allow emergency use of convalescent plasma- before the agency was ready to do so. ”

Medical Experts Say We Need a Second Shutdown to Control COVID-19

“In an open letter, also sent to the Trump administration, over 150 medical experts and other professionals are pleading for a second lockdown to address the steep rise in COVID-19 cases. ”

Researchers ask if survivor plasma could prevent coronavirus

“Survivors of COVID-19 are donating their blood plasma in droves in hopes it helps other patients recover from the coronavirus. And while the jury’s still out, now scientists are testing if the donations might also prevent infection in the first place.”

Convalescent plasma: ‘Flavor of the month’ or valid COVID-19 treatment?

“On March 31, soon after the Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of antibody-packed plasma from recovered patients with COVID-19, Marisa Leuzzi became the first donor at an American Red Cross center. She hoped it could help her aunt, Renee Bannister, who was failing after 3 weeks on a ventilator at Virtua Hospital in Voorhees, N.J.”

Using convalescent blood to treat COVID-19: The whys and hows

“Some researchers and doctors have started using plasma from people recovering from COVID-19 to treat others who have developed the disease. Medical News Today spoke to Dr. Arturo Casadevall, from Johns Hopkins University, to learn more about this approach.”

Convalescent Plasma Is Safe to Treat Covid-19, National Study Shows

“First large-scale analysis of patients receiving experimental treatment for coronavirus is expected to lead to more trials to test effectiveness of therapy.”

Covid-19 Raises Questions About the Value of Personalized Medicine

“A group of medical dissenters argues that tailoring treatment to the genetic profiles of individuals, a longstanding goal for researchers, is less important than the old-fashioned public health measures being used against the pandemic.”

Convalescent serum lines up as first-choice treatment for coronavirus

“Antibodies from blood donated by people who recovered from the illness and hyper-immunoglobulins are becoming treatments of choice for COVID-19, with recombinant polyclonal antibody approaches to follow.”

What Is Convalescent Plasma, and Why Do We Care About It?

“A medical procedure doctors have used to treat novel diseases for a century has emerged as a focal point in the fight against Covid-19: convalescent plasma.”

The FDA just approved Columbia's COVID-19 plasma therapy study, backed by Amazon

“FDA just greenlight a study to determine whether plasma collected from recently recovered Covid-19 patients help protect health care workers and alleviate symptoms in those who are severely ill from the virus.”

Hundreds Receive Plasma From Recovered Coronavirus Patients in National Study (PDF)

“Six hundred severely ill Covid-19 patients have received blood plasma from recovered patientsin a study researchers hope sheds light on whether the experimental therapy improves healthoutcomes and yields other useful data outside the scientific rigor of a traditional clinical trial.”

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Encourages Recovered Patients to Donate Plasma for Development of Blood-Related Therapies

“During this challenging time, many people are asking what they can do to contribute to the COVID-19 response. Those individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 could have an immediate impact in helping others who are severely ill. In fact, one donation has the potential to help up to four patients. Convalescent plasma can also be used to manufacture a biological product called hyperimmune globulin, which can similarly be used to treat patients with COVID-19.”

Why Blood From Coronavirus Survivors Could Be a Lifeline for the Sick

“In theory, doctors can transfer these antibodies to a person who is still sick, so these proteins can help them recover.”

Plasma treatment showing promise in Houston coronavirus patients

Houston is leading the way in research to help patients recover for coronavirus. One treatment is showing promise in Houston patients battling the virus.

29-year-old COVID-19 patient treated with Israel's new ‘passive vaccine’

“A 29-year-old haredi (ultra-Orthodox) coronavirus patient who is being treated at Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital has improved from serious to serious but stable condition, after receiving multiple doses of plasma over the weekend from a donor who recovered from coronavirus, a spokesperson for the hospital told The Jerusalem Post.”

Searching for a coronavirus cure in the blood

“Scientists look to convalescent plasma, hyperimmune therapy, and monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19”

Mayo Clinic named national site for Convalescent Plasma Expanded Access Program

“We are pleased to work with our colleagues and the nation to fight this pandemic every way we can as part of Mayo's patient-focused mission," Dr. Joyner says. "We believe this program, in extending access to this investigational treatment, is a hopeful therapeutic option.”

Johns Hopkins Gets FDA OK to Test Blood Therapies for COVID-19 Patients

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a clinical trial Friday that will allow Johns Hopkins University researchers to test a therapy for COVID-19 that uses plasma from recovering patients.”

NYCB Plasma Collection Release

“NYBC is one of the largest independent blood centers in the world. Its network serves local communities in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska and Rhode Island. NYBC anticipates collecting convalescent plasma collections across these locations and the pandemic intensifies in locations across the US.”

Investigational COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma - Emergency INDs

“FDA has worked with multiple federal partners and academia to open an expanded access protocol to facilitate access to COVID-19 convalescent plasma. For patients with, or at risk of, severe or life-threatening COVID-19 disease who are not eligible or who are unable to participate in randomized clinical trials, access may be available through participation of acute care facilities in an investigational expanded access protocol under an IND already in place”

Could plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients help others?

“As new cases of COVID-19 mount daily, treatment revolves around supportive therapy to reduce symptoms, meaning there are no treatments shown to slow down or kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus. One new idea actually isn’t so new: transfusing blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients into patients currently sick with the disease.”

FDA authorizes first antibody-based test for COVID-19

“When someone is infected with a virus for the first time, their immune system begins producing antibodies specific to that virus. Checking to see if someone has coronavirus-specific antibodies is good evidence that they’ve been infected.”

FDA Approves First Coronavirus Antibody Test in U.S.

“Such a test may help scientists learn how widespread the infection is, and how long people remain immune after recovering.”

Ten Weeks to Crush the Curve

“The President says we are at war with the coronavirus. It’s a war we should fight to win. The aim is not to flatten the curve, the goal is to crush the curve.”

Mayo Clinic, Amazon join project to fight COVID-19 with harvested plasma from recovered patients

"A team of Mayo Clinic researchers are part of a national effort to develop a potential weapon against COVID-19 — one that could be ready in weeks, not months — by collecting blood plasma from patients who have recovered from the disease."