08-19-2020, 11:31 AM
Taking antibody rich plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 looks to be a promising treatment for patients fighting the infection, and there is a long history of using convalescent plasma in other diseases. Among Trump's endorsements, this is one of the less cockamamie. However, enthusiasm for it seems to be outrunning the data, and Francis Collins Anthony Fauci have had to intervene to temper enthusiasm and make sure we get the data supporting its use before an EUA is granted.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/19/us/po...id-19.html
As an aside, I think the Mayo clinic is being irresponsible in pushing plasma to the degree it has without setting up a randomized, placebo controlled trial. I know that it is complicated. I know that there is good reason to be enthusiastic about plasma. But to give it to 66,000 people and not conduct a high quality trial with it represents a colossal missed opportunity. WIth even a fraction of those patients enrolled in a randomized, placebo controlled trial, we would have a clear answer of whether the drug works by now.
BC
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/19/us/po...id-19.html
As an aside, I think the Mayo clinic is being irresponsible in pushing plasma to the degree it has without setting up a randomized, placebo controlled trial. I know that it is complicated. I know that there is good reason to be enthusiastic about plasma. But to give it to 66,000 people and not conduct a high quality trial with it represents a colossal missed opportunity. WIth even a fraction of those patients enrolled in a randomized, placebo controlled trial, we would have a clear answer of whether the drug works by now.
BC