US authorises plasma treatment for COVID-19

President Donald Trump announced emergency authorisation to treat COVID19 patients with convalescent plasma a move he called a breakthrough one of his top health officials called promising and other health experts said needs more study before its celebratedThe announcement came after White House officials complained there were politically motivated delays by the Food and Drug Administration in approving a vaccine and therapeutics for the disease that has upended Trumps reelection chancesOn the eve of the Republican National Convention Trump put himself at the centre of the FDAs announcement of the authorisation at a news conference on Sunday evening The authorisation makes it easier for some patients to obtain the treatment but is not the same as full FDA approvalThe blood plasma taken from patients who have recovered from the Coronavirus and rich in antibodies may provide benefits to those battling the disease But the evidence so far has not been conclusive about whether it works when to administer it and what dose is neededIn a letter describing the emergency authorisation the chief scientist for the FDA Denise Hinton said COVID19 convalescent plasma should not be considered a new standard of care for the treatment of patients with COVID19 Additional data will be forthcoming from other analyses and ongoing wellcontrolled clinical trials in the coming monthsBut Trump had made clear to aides that he was eager to showcase good news in the battle against the virus and the timing allowed him to head into his convention with momentum He also displayed some rare discipline in the evening news conference sticking to his talking points deferring to the head of the FDA Stephen Hahn and only taking three questions from reporters The push on Sunday came a day after Trump tweeted sharp criticism on the process to treat the virus which has killed more than 175000 Americans and imperilled his reelection chancesMore than 70000 patients in the US have been given convalescent plasma a centuryold approach to fend off flu and measles before vaccines Its a goto tactic when new diseases come along and history suggests it works against some but not all infectionsThe Mayo Clinic reported data from 35000 COVID19 patients treated with plasma and said there were fewer deaths among people given plasma within three days of diagnosis and also among those given plasma containing the highest levels of virusfighting antibodiesSpanish region bans gatherings of more than 10Madrid Catalonias president has announced a ban on social gatherings of more than 10 people and widespread testing of half a million students in Spains northeastern region The new series of measures announced by Quim Torra aims to curb a wave of new Coronavirus infections ahead of the reopening of schools in midSeptemberWe have to give everything in the coming three weeks because yes or yes this country has to get to work and yes or yes schools need to open the regional chief saidat a news conference Spain as a whole leads Europes charts with more than 386000 total reported infections since FebruaryKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever