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New Study Validates Benefits of Convalescent Plasma for Some COVID-19 Patients

AHA Publisher — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 08:00:26 +0000

NYU Langone Health via Newswise – Transfusions of blood plasma donated by people who have already recovered from infection with the pandemic virus may help other patients hospitalized with COVID-19, a new international study shows. The treatment, known as convalescent plasma, is still considered experimental by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Plasma contains antibodies, blood proteins that are part of the immune system. Shaped so they can attach to the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, antibodies glom onto and tag it for removal from the body, researchers say. Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the study showed that among 2,341 men and women, those who received an injection of convalescent plasma soon after hospitalization were 15% less likely to die within a month from COVID-19 than those who did not receive convalescent plasma or those who received an inactive saline placebo. Notably, the researchers found that the biggest benefits for the therapy were among patients most at risk for severe complications because of pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease. The treatment, which contains antibodies and other immune cells needed to fight the infection, also appears to benefit those with type A or AB blood. “Our results show that, overall, patients hospitalized with COVID-19 may derive modest benefit from convalescent plasma, with some patient subgroups benefiting more than others,” says study lead investigator and biostatistician Andrea Troxel, ScD. With respect to the groups most likely to benefit, the FDA on Dec. 28, 2021, revised the Emergency Use Authorization for convalescent plasma, limiting its use to patients with diseases that suppress their immune systems, or that receive medical treatments with the same effect. “Patients with co-existing disease were most likely to show improvement from convalescent plasma, probably because they have the most difficulty producing antibodies to fight their infection,” adds Troxel. “The infused plasma boosts their body’s ability to fight the virus, but only in the early stage of the disease and before the illness overwhelms their body.” The current study findings, published in the journal JAMA Network Open online Jan. 25, come from the pooling of patient information from eight recently completed studies in the United States, Belgium, Brazil, India, the Netherlands, and Spain on the effects of convalescent plasma for COVID-19. These benefits of the treatment are only likely to become clear as more data from the trials become available, says Troxel, a professor in the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone. This is because the data from individual trials are too small to show the treatment’s overall impact on subsets of patients, she says. Some individual studies have showed the therapy to be ineffective or of limited value. Study co-investigator Eva Petkova, PhD, says the team is using its study data to create a scoring system of patient descriptors, including age, stage of COVID-19, and co-existing diseases, making it easier for clinicians to calculate who stands to benefit most from use of convalescent plasma. “Our treatment benefit index is designed to serve as a quick and effective tool for physicians to use in deciding when to administer convalescent plasma for COVID-19,” says Petkova, a professor in the Departments of Population Health and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Langone. The index is freely available online at [http://covid-convalescentplasma-tbi-calc.org]. For the study, researchers grouped all patient information from smaller, separate clinical investigations about convalescent plasma therapy, including trials at NYU Langone, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Researchers hoped any benefits or disadvantages in treatment would be easier to spot among the largest possible sample of patients. All trials were randomized and controlled, meaning that the patient had a random chance of being assigned to receive convalescent plasma or not to receive it. Included in the analysis were data from another multicenter U.S. study published separately in December 2021 in JAMA Internal Medicine. That study in 941 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 showed that patients receiving high doses of convalescent plasma therapy and not on other medications, such as remdesivir or corticosteroids, were likely to benefit from the blood plasma treatment. Study co-primary investigator Mila Ortigoza, MD, PhD, an assistant professor in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology at NYU Langone, says these initial results supported the idea that convalescent plasma could be a feasible treatment option, especially when other therapies are not yet available, as at the beginning of a pandemic. In addition, convalescent plasma collected from previously infected and subsequently vaccinated donors (VaxPlasma) would contain antibodies in high enough quantities and diversity that could provide added protection against emerging viral variants, says Ortigoza. Viruses typically mutate genetically (acquire random changes in their DNA or RNA codes) over the course of any pandemic. For this reason, convalescent plasma has the potential to offer effective treatment more quickly after such mutations than treatment types that tend to become less effective with time and must undergo a re-design process to address a new variant, such as monoclonal antibody treatments. To read the original article click here.

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Scientists Identify Natural SARS-CoV-2 Super Immunity Against 23 Variants

AHA Publisher — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 07:00:52 +0000

Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta, Ph.D. via News-Medical – A team of international scientists has recently identified ultrapotent anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies from convalescent donors. The antibodies are capable of neutralizing a wide range of SARS-CoV-2 variants even at sub-nanomolar concentrations. In addition, the combinations of these antibodies reduce the risk of generating escape mutants in vitro. The study is published in the journal Science. Background Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative pathogen of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the human beta-coronavirus family. The spike glycoprotein on the viral envelop is composed of two subunits S1 and S2. Of which, the S1 subunit directly binds to the host cell angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor through the receptor-binding domain (RBD) to initiate the viral entry process. The majority of therapeutic antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 have been designed based on the native spike protein sequence found in the original Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2. Thus, novel viral variants with multiple spike protein mutations may likely develop resistance against these antibodies. In this context, studies have shown that antibodies developed in response to currently available COVID-19 vaccines have less efficiency in neutralizing novel variants of concern (VOCs) of SARS-CoV, including B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P1, and B.1.617.2. In the current study, the scientists have isolated and characterized anti-spike RBD antibodies from COVID-19 recovered patients. Antibody Identification The antibodies were isolated from four convalescent donors infected with the Washington-1 (WA-1) strain of SARS-CoV-2. The spike sequence in the WA-1 strain is similar to the spike sequence in the original Wuhan strain. The B cells isolated from donor-derived blood samples were sorted for antibody identification. This led to the identification of four potent neutralizing antibodies targeting the spike RBD. These antibodies showed a high affinity for the SARS-CoV-2 spike even at nanomolar concentrations. To determine whether the high potency antibodies could block ACE2 – spike binding, interferometry ACE2-competition and cell surface binding assays were performed. The findings revealed that of 4 antibodies, two bound to RBDs in the “up position” and two bound to RBDs in the “down position.” Moreover, three out of four antibodies directly blocked the RBD – ACE2 interaction, and one indirectly inhibited the interaction through steric hindrance – the slowing of chemical reactions due to steric bulk. Antibody-Mediated Neutralization All experimental antibodies exhibited significantly higher potency in neutralizing D614G mutation-containing variants than the WA-1 strain. Further analysis with lentiviral particles pseudotyped with spike variants indicated that the antibodies maintain high potency in neutralizing a diverse set of 10 spike variants. Importantly, three out of four experimental antibodies showed high efficacy in neutralizing 13 circulating variants of concern/interest of SARS-CoV-2, including B.1.1.7, B.1.351, B.1.427, B.1.429, B.1.526, P.1, P.2, B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2. Structural and Functional Analysis of Antibodies Cryo-electron microscopic analyses of antibody-antigen complex structures revealed that two antibodies with the highest neutralization potency bind to the spike protein with all RBDs in “up position.” Further structural analyses revealed that the epitope binding modes of the antibodies are responsible for high neutralizing potency against SARS-CoV-2 VOCs. The binding and neutralizing ability of the antibodies was negatively impacted by three spike mutations, including F486R, N487R, and Y489R. Antibody Resistance Antibody selection pressure was applied to the WA-1 strain to identify potential escape mutations that may appear during the viral infection. The positive selection pressure was applied by incubating the virus with increasing concentrations of the antibodies to trigger antibody resistance. In two of the most potent antibodies, one was negatively impacted by a single F486S mutation, and the other one was impacted by the F486L, N487D, and Q493R mutations. However, the Q493R mutation showed a negligible impact on binding and neutralization. Further analysis revealed that these escape mutations are primarily absent in circulating viral variants, indicating the absence of selection pressure. By conducting multiple rounds of selection using combination treatments with two antibodies, it was observed that antibody combinations might reduce the risk of escape mutation acquisition and subsequent development of resistant viral variants. To read the original article click here.

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Study Suggests Healing Properties of Honey and Nigella Sativa Expedites Viral Clearance in COVID-19 Patients

AHA Publisher — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 08:00:01 +0000

Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc. via News-Medical Net – The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted over 50 million people so far and has claimed more than 1.25 million lives globally. As the virus continues to spread, with many countries experiencing second waves right now, we still do not have an effective vaccine against COVID-19. This makes finding an effective drug to treat the disease very important, and scientists worldwide are racing against time to find therapeutic solutions that will help treat COVID-19 patients. An ideal treatment would speed up symptomatic recovery, decrease viral load, and expedite viral clearance and reduce mortality. Although certain treatments such as hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, dexamethasone, remdesivir, antibody therapies, and convalescent plasma have shown some efficacy, an effective treatment to fight severe COVID-19 is still not a reality. Keeping this in mind, a team of researchers from various institutes across Pakistan, Chile, Canada, and the USA recently conducted a clinical trial to investigate the potential effectiveness of a combination of honey and Nigella sativa (HNS) in treating COVID-19 patients. Their study is published on the preprint server medRxiv* prior to the scientific peer review process*. Since previous studies show that both components of HNS have proven anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and immune-modulatory effects, the researchers wanted to assess the efficacy of HNS in fighting COVID-19. Healing Properties of Honey and Nigella Sativa Honey has been reported to have beneficial effects against many viruses, including herpes simplex virus (HSV), rubella virus, Hepatitis virus, and Varicella Zoster virus. It is also effective against many multidrug-resistant bacterial strains, especially when used along with antibiotics. In addition to its immunity-boosting effects that stimulate innate as well as adaptive immune responses, honey has been shown to be beneficial in fighting upper respiratory tract infections. Nigella sativa is a medicinal plant commonly known as Black Cumin and has been proven to have anti-viral properties against many viruses, including mouse cytomegalovirus and HCV. In vitro studies have shown that it can decrease the replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Some of its components have a high affinity to many SARS-CoV-2 proteins and enzymes. A Randomized, Controlled Trial to Study the Action of HNS Against COVID-19 The researchers performed a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial in patients with COVID-19 of varying severity. Randomized patients received either a combination of 1 gm/kg/day of honey and 80 mg/kg/day of Nigella sativa or placebo for 13 days. Viral clearance, symptoms, alleviation, and 30-day mortality were some of the outcomes. “The trial results show that the use of HNS in COVID-19 patients promotes viral clearance and reduces the severity of the disease.” Of the 313 patients, part of the study cohort, 210 patients with moderate symptoms and 103 with severe COVID-19 underwent randomization. Among these patients, 107 received HNS, and 103 moderate cases received a placebo. Fifty severe COVID-19 patients were given HNS, and 53 severe cases received placebo. Administration of HNS led to alleviation of symptoms by day 3 in moderate cases and day 7 in severe cases. “Anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensive, cardio-protective and broncho-dilatory properties of HNS make it even more beneficial in diabetic, hypertensive, cardiac and asthmatic patients who have a higher COVID-19 associated mortality.” HNS could be an affordable, home-based, OTC treatment option for COVID-19 patients The study results show that HNS helped with symptoms alleviation and viral clearance and reduced mortality in patients with moderate and severe disease. According to the team, HNS can be used as a safe and effective therapy in COVID-19 patients as it promotes quicker recovery and survival. Thus, they concluded that HNS represents an affordable therapeutic option and can be used alone or in combination with other therapies to fight COVID-19. Some benefits of this potential treatment option are its ‘over the counter’ availability, affordability – less than $5 for the entire treatment course, and ease of administration as it can be a home-based remedy. Moreover, HNS can also be used in combination with other drugs for increased efficacy. The authors believe that this treatment will significantly reduce the burden on global health care systems. “A multinational study with larger sample size is required to investigate potential variations in responses to the treatment in COVID-19 patients from different racial and ethnic origins.” *Important Notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. Journal reference: Efficacy of honey and Nigella sativa against COVID-19: HNS-COVID-PK Trial Sohaib Ashraf, Shoaib Ashraf, Muhammad Ahmad Imran, Moneeb Ashraf, Larab Kalsoom, Uzma Nasim Siddiqui, Muhammad Ghufran, Nighat Majeed, Iqra Farooq, Zaighum Habib, Abubakar Hilal, Zain-ul-Abdin, Ayesha Khaqan, Muhammad Kiwan Akram, Sidra Ashraf, Rutaba Akmal, Sundas Rafique, Khawar Nawaz, Shahroze Arshad, Sohail Ahmad, Kanwal Hayat, Ali Arshad, Muhammad Faisal Nadeem, Muhammad Hassan, Abeer-bin-Awais, Muhammad Azam, Muhammad Suhail, Sibgha Zulfiqar, Imran Anwar, Saulat Sarfraz, Ayesha Hamayoun, Amber Malik, Hui Zheng, Talha Mahmood, Mahmood Ayyaz, Ali Ahmad, Muhammad Ashraf, Qazi Abdul Saboor, Mateen Izhar medRxiv 2020.10.30.20217364; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.30.20217364, https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.30.20217364v2 To read the original article click here.

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Caution, Not Fear: The COVID Death Rate Has Plunged Since April, but Hospitalizations Are Spiking Again

AHA Publisher — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 08:00:41 +0000

Lorie Johnson via CBN News – Hospitals across the nation are pushed to the limit due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. Things are particularly bad in Utah and parts of the Midwest. In El Paso, Texas, the situation is so dire residents face a mandatory 10:00 p.m. curfew to blunt the impact. El Paso’s largest hospital has prepared for the worst by erecting overflow tents in the parking lot in case there aren’t enough beds inside to handle a possible influx of patients. Nationwide, 42,000 people have been hospitalized this week. In Texas, that number surpasses 5,000 – almost double what it was last month. Texas physician Craig DeLisi told CBN News he’s concerned about the rise in hospitalizations. “I think as we see an increase there unfortunately I think we’re going to see an up-tick in deaths as well,” he said. Dr. DeLisi said one reason for the increase in cases and hospitalizations is the cooler weather, which drives people inside where the disease is more easily spread. Also, after seven months of practicing mitigation efforts, people are simply tired of wearing maskings and keeping their distance from others. “Just a general fatigue of people from a caution standpoint,” he said. “Masks are a mixed bag of peoples’ responses. More people would rather leave them than take them and as that happens, naturally we’re going to see more people infected.” Therefore, the doctor prescribes caution, but no fear. “We’re commanded not to be anxious about anything,” he said. “In Philippians, it tells us with prayer and thanksgiving to present our requests to God and he promises the peace of God will rule our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” While a lot of attention is focused on increased infections in some places, one often overlooked statistic is the drastic reduction in death rates, a reported 80% since April. According to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, the U.S. death rate now stands at 2.6%, lower than 14 other countries in Europe, South America and the Middle East. Six months ago, patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the US faced a 25% chance of death. Now doctors are seeing a much lower death rate of 7% among those hospitalized with the virus. “Praise the Lord for that,” said Dr. DeLisi, “There are two reasons for that. One is a better understanding of the disease and the second is better therapeutics.” That includes the anti-viral medication Remdesivir which blocks the replication of the virus. On October 22, 2020, it became the first drug to be approved by the FDA to treat COVID-19. In clinical trials, the drug demonstrated an ability to hasten recovery from the virus. Dexamethasone is another widely used drug that has proven effective in treating COVID-19. The steroid medication has been given Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA and is used to calm the often deadly “cytokine storm,” the over-reaction of the immune system caused by massive inflammation. Both Remdesivir and Dexamethasone were given to President Trump after he was diagnosed with COVID-19. One of the most highly touted drugs given to the president, a polyclonal antibody made by the pharmaceutical company Regeneron, isn’t yet available to the general public, but the FDA could issue an Emergency Use Authorization in the months ahead. President Trump is one of only a couple of hundred people to be given the drug on a Compassion Use basis. The drug stimulates a robust immune response to the virus. In the meantime, hospitals are now using a similar treatment, convalescent plasma, which is antibody-rich blood donated by people who have survived COVID-19. To read the original article click here. For more articles from CBN News click here.

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As Number of COVID-19 Infections Drop, the President Announces FDA-Authorized Plasma Treatment

AHA Publisher — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 07:00:05 +0000

News Staff via CBN News – There’s some good news in the fight against the Coronavirus. The number of new infections has dropped to the lowest level in two months. The news comes as President Trump and the Food and Drug Administration announced progress Sunday in treating COVID-19. So far, the virus has killed more than 175,000 Americans. The FDA declared emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma for COVID-19 patients, saying its benefits outweigh its risks. Convalescent plasma is blood from people who have survived the virus which is then transfused into people currently fighting it. It’s been used on 70,000 people since the pandemic began. The treatment is a century-old approach to fend off flu and measles before vaccines. It’s a go-to tactic when new diseases come along, and history suggests it works against some, but not all, infections. President Trump said the emergency use authorization will dramatically increase access to the treatment. But the FDA’s chief scientist says the treatment should not be recognized as a new standard for treating Coronavirus patients. In a letter describing the emergency authorization, the chief scientist for the FDA, Denise Hinton, said: “COVID-19 convalescent plasma should not be considered a new standard of care for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. Additional data will be forthcoming from other analyses and ongoing, well-controlled clinical trials in the coming months. According to the Associated Press, the White House had grown agitated with the pace of the plasma approval. The accusations of an FDA slowdown, which were presented without evidence, were just the latest assault from Trump’s team on what he refers to as the “deep state” bureaucracy. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows did not deal in specifics, but said that “we’ve looked at a number of people that are not being as diligent as they should be in terms of getting to the bottom of it.” “This president is about cutting red tape,” Meadows said in an interview Sunday on “This Week” on ABC. “He had to make sure that they felt the heat. If they don’t see the light, they need to feel the heat because the American people are suffering.” To read the original article click here. For more articles from CBN News click here.

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Study of 300 COVID-19 Patients Shows Efficacy of Convalescent Plasma Therapy

AHA Publisher — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 07:00:29 +0000

Elsevier via News-Medical Net – A preliminary analysis of an ongoing study of more than 300 COVID-19 patients treated with convalescent plasma therapy at Houston Methodist suggests the treatment is safe and effective. The results, which appear now in The American Journal of Pathology, represents one of the first peer-reviewed publications in the country assessing efficacy of convalescent plasma. From March 28, when Houston Methodist became the first academic medical center in the nation to infuse critically ill COVID-19 patients with plasma donated from recovered patients, research physicians have used the treatment on 350 patients. The study tracked severely ill COVID-19 patients admitted to Houston Methodist’s system of eight hospitals from March 28 through July 6. These latest results from Houston Methodist that now measured medical effectiveness offer valuable scientific evidence that transfusing critically ill COVID-19 patients with high antibody plasma early in their illness – within 72 hours after hospitalization proving most effective – reduced the mortality rate. The study, titled “Treatment of COVID-19 Patients with Convalescent Plasma Reveals a Signal of Significantly Decreased Mortality,” was led by principal investigator Eric Salazar, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Pathology and Genomic Medicine with the Houston Methodist Hospital and Research Institute, and corresponding author James M. Musser, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine at Houston Methodist. “Our studies to date show the treatment is safe and, in a promising number of patients, effective. While convalescent plasma therapy remains experimental and we have more research to do and data to collect, we now have more evidence than ever that this century-old plasma therapy has merit, is safe, and can help reduce the death rate from this virus.” (Dr. James M. Musser, Chair of the Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine at Houston Methodist) The research team found that those treated early in their illness with donated plasma that has the highest concentration of anti-COVID-19 antibodies are more likely to survive and recover than similar patients who were not treated with convalescent plasma. Patients with a history of severe reactions to blood transfusions, those with underlying uncompensated and untreatable end-stage disease, and patients with fluid overload or other conditions that would increase the risk of plasma transfusion were excluded. The patients were tracked for 28 days after plasma transfusion and compared to a control group of similar COVID-19 patients who did not receive convalescent plasma. An observational propensity score-matched analysis was used to balance the characteristics of participants and allow for an objective interpretation of the results at this stage. Several studies have measured safety, showing that the more than 34,000 COVID-19 patients in the United States who have received plasma transfusions for COVID-19 experienced minimal adverse effects. To read the original article click here.

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COVID Treatment Offers Instant Immunity, and It’s Already Available

AHA Publisher — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 07:00:17 +0000

Staff at CBN News – Nationwide, new cases of COVID-19 are declining, dropping 14 percent in the last two weeks. But on the local level, cases are still rising in at least 10 states. Meanwhile, there’s some good news on the medical front. By now you’ve probably heard a coronavirus vaccine may be here by Christmas. What you may not know is one treatment offering instant immunity is available now, and another like it could be available within weeks, much sooner than a vaccine will be ready. National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins says they both show promise. “One of the things I’m pretty excited about is the opportunity to use convalescent plasma, that is plasma that is donated by people who have survived. So if people who are listening who have survived, I hope that they would look into going to their Red Cross or blood bank and donating a unit of blood because that might save somebody else,” Collins said. “And we can go even further than that and actually purify the antibodies of people who’ve survived, called monoclonal antibodies. Those are about to get tested within the next few weeks to see whether they also provide lifesaving benefits,” he said. Those synthetic monoclonal antibodies could be available next month. The US government has awarded the drug company Regeneron a $450 million contract to begin production of an antibody treatment. Other drug companies are also working on similar treatments. “When a virus infects our bodies, our immune system creates these antibodies,” CBN News Medical Reporter Lorie Johnson explains. “So people with healthy immune systems who have already recovered from COVID-19 still have these wonderful antibodies in their blood, and they’re being asked to donate that blood. So please go to coronavirus.gov and see how you can donate a unit of blood because that blood is full of those wonderful antibodies and can be transfused into people who are very, very sick with COVID-19.” This article has been modified. To read the original article click here. For more articles from CBN News click here.

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University of Miami Health System to Offer Convalescent Plasma with COVID-19 Antibodies for Seriously Ill Patients

AHA Publisher — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 07:00:14 +0000

University of Miami Health System, Miller School of Medicine via Newswise – A new initiative by infectious disease experts and researchers with the University of Miami Health System offers convalescent plasma with COVID-19 antibodies as a treatment for patients who are seriously ill from the coronavirus infection or at serious risk of progression. Newswise — A new initiative by infectious disease experts and researchers with the University of Miami Health System offers convalescent plasma with COVID-19 antibodies as a treatment for patients who are seriously ill from the coronavirus infection or at serious risk of progression. “This new program could be a potentially life-saving treatment for patients admitted to the hospital with severe COVID,” said Maria Luisa Alcaide, M.D., associate professor of clinical medicine and director of the Infectious Diseases Research Unit. She is leading the initiative, titled “Use of Convalescent Plasma for Severe COVID-19,” with Shweta Anjan, M.D., assistant professor of clinical medicine. Under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s national Expanded Access Program, UM clinicians will have access to plasma donated by individuals who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection. “Their blood contains antibodies that may strengthen the ability of patients to fight this viral infection,” said Dr. Anjan. “This approach has been effective with influenza and other viral infections, including prior coronaviruses.” After patients have received the plasma, the research team will study the outcomes for a period of one month. Initial data from studies using COVID-19 convalescent plasma for the treatment of individuals with severe or life-threatening disease indicated that a single dose showed benefit for some patients, leading to improvement, according to the national program’s website. “While many researchers are working on COVID-19 vaccines or therapies, there are no approved treatments yet,” said Dr. Anjan. “We are hoping that infusing plasma with COVID-19 antibodies will decrease the viral load on patients. Ideally, this could be done before patients with breathing problems need to go on a mechanical ventilator, so they are not subjected to potential complications.” Dr. Alcaide said she expects to see an increase in plasma donations as more individuals recover from COVID-19 infections. “It typically takes about two weeks after an active infection for a positive COVID-19 test to turn negative, although it can be longer,” she said. “At that point, you can apply to make a convalescent plasma donation.” The University of Miami Health System is partnering with OneBlood, a statewide blood bank, to raise awareness of the program and encourage people who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate their plasma. A donor must have confirmed COVID-19 documented by a laboratory test (e.g., nasopharyngeal swab PCR) at the time of illness, and complete resolution of symptoms at least 28 days before donation OR complete resolution of symptoms at least 14 days before donation, and repeat negative results for COVID-19 from a nasopharyngeal swab specimen. For More information on the donation process is here. For recipients, the protocol requires the patient or family member to consent to receiving plasma from someone who has recovered from COVID-19. This article has been modified. To read the original article click here.

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