Post by the Scribe on Aug 31, 2020 1:58:40 GMT
We have conducted 40 million more tests than the next closest nation, which is India. We developed a wide array of effective treatments including a powerful antibody treatment known as convalescent plasma. You saw that on Sunday night when we announced it. That will save thousands and thousands of lives.
On Sunday, President Trump announced that his administration had granted emergency-use authorization to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients with plasma taken from people who had recovered from the coronavirus. The Food and Drug Administration says early data from COVID-19 patients who got this plasma as an experimental treatment suggest it can save lives if administered soon after hospitalization. Other experts say the evidence is weak and it needs more study. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn used a misleading statistic to suggest how good the plasma treatment was, drawing deep scorn from other scientists; Hahn later admitted their criticism was justified.
www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/08/23/905277083/fda-authorizes-convalescent-plasma-as-emergency-treatment-for-covid-19
www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/08/25/905792261/fdas-hahn-apologizes-for-overselling-plasmas-benefits-as-a-covid-19-treatment
So far, most of the treatments used to treat COVID-19 have been drugs that were originally designed for other diseases. Remdesivir was first tried as a treatment for Ebola, and dexamethasone is a steroid that has been around for decades. Convalescent plasma is not a new concept, having been used for more than a century, although plasma containing antibodies to the coronavirus is, of course, new because the virus is new. Additional new drugs are in the pipeline, but none has shown convincing results yet.
Nell Greenfieldboyce
NPR Science Desk Correspondent
On Sunday, President Trump announced that his administration had granted emergency-use authorization to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients with plasma taken from people who had recovered from the coronavirus. The Food and Drug Administration says early data from COVID-19 patients who got this plasma as an experimental treatment suggest it can save lives if administered soon after hospitalization. Other experts say the evidence is weak and it needs more study. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn used a misleading statistic to suggest how good the plasma treatment was, drawing deep scorn from other scientists; Hahn later admitted their criticism was justified.
www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/08/23/905277083/fda-authorizes-convalescent-plasma-as-emergency-treatment-for-covid-19
www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/08/25/905792261/fdas-hahn-apologizes-for-overselling-plasmas-benefits-as-a-covid-19-treatment
So far, most of the treatments used to treat COVID-19 have been drugs that were originally designed for other diseases. Remdesivir was first tried as a treatment for Ebola, and dexamethasone is a steroid that has been around for decades. Convalescent plasma is not a new concept, having been used for more than a century, although plasma containing antibodies to the coronavirus is, of course, new because the virus is new. Additional new drugs are in the pipeline, but none has shown convincing results yet.
Nell Greenfieldboyce
NPR Science Desk Correspondent