CLAIM: Plasma from Coronavirus survivors can be used to treat COVID-19
VERDICT: INCONCLUSIVE
Scientists and doctors are still exploring drugs, vaccines and multiple other treatment to fight COVID-19.
The plasma therapy is part of trials and not necessarily the cure despite positive outcomes that have been derived from it.
Worth highlighting therefore at this stage is that while plasma therapy has had positive impact on COVID-19 treatment, it remains one of many other initiatives by doctors and scientists to treat the pandemic.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) maintains that treatment and cure for COVID-19 are yet to be discovered.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN
The Guardian in an article dated April 7 2020 and headlined: “Plasma from coronavirus survivors found to help severely ill patients,” suggests that doctors have found evidence that seriously ill COVID-19 patients can benefit from infusions of blood plasma from people who have recovered from the disease.
BACKGROUND:
Plasma is the yellow liquid part of the blood.
Two doctors in China, according to a recently published article by the Guardian gave anti-body rich plasma to 15 severely ill patients and registered significant improvements in many of them.
“In one pilot study, doctors in Wuhan gave “convalescent plasma” to 10 severely ill patients and found that virus levels in their bodies dropped rapidly,” reads the article.
“Within three days, the doctors saw improvements in the patients’ symptoms, ranging from shortness of breath and chest pains to fever and coughs.”
Antibodies of Coronavirus survivors according to ABC News article posted on April 20 are tailor-made by the immune system to fight COVID-19 by neutralising the virus.
In another article posted by livemint.com on 21 April 2020 under the headline: “Plasma therapy: Do we finally have treatment for coronavirus disease, the author suggests that there is still no treatment for COVID-19.
“Scientists and doctors are exploring drugs, vaccines and multiple other treatment to fight COVID-19,” reads the article.
The article cites plasma therapy as a mere part of trials and not necessarily the cure despite positive outcomes that have been derived from it.
In conclusion therefore, while plasma therapy has had positive impact on COVID-19 treatment, it remains one of many other initiatives doctors and scientists have come up with as they try to find cure for the pandemic.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) maintains that treatment and cure for COVID-19 are yet to be discovered.
