US President Donald Trump on Sunday announced an emergency authorization of convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19.
Trump said that the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) has authorised the emergency use of convalescent plasma for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.
“Today, I am pleased to make a truly historic announcement in our battle against China virus, that will save countless lives. The FDA has issued an emergency use authorisation for a treatment known as convalescent plasma,” President Trump said during a briefing.
Trump further said, “It’s only made possible because of Operation Warp Speed, i.e. everybody working together. We’re years ahead of approvals. If we went by the speed levels of past administration would be 2-3 years behind where we’re today. That includes vaccines you would be hearing about very soon.”
“JUST ANNOUNCED: @US_FDA has issued an emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma as a treatment for Coronavirus,” the White House tweeted.
“In clinical studies, convalescent plasma reduced mortality by 35 percent,” it added.
As per the statement released by FDA, “Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for investigational convalescent plasma for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to fight COVID-19. Based on scientific evidence available, the FDA concluded, as outlined in its decision memorandum, this product may be effective in treating COVID-19 and that the known and potential benefits of the product outweigh the known and potential risks of the product,
“Today’s action follows the FDA’s extensive review of the science and data generated over the past several months stemming from efforts to facilitate emergency access to convalescent plasma for patients as clinical trials to definitively demonstrate safety and efficacy remain ongoing,” it said.
“The EUA authorizes the distribution of COVID-19 convalescent plasma in the U.S. and its administration by health care providers, as appropriate, to treat suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in hospitalized patients with COVID-19,” it added.
