Can Covid Be Treated With Convalescent Plasma? NIH Says Not Enough Evidence - Bloomberg

Can Covid Be Treated With Convalescent Plasma? NIH Says Not Enough Evidence - Bloomberg

NIH: Not enough evidence for plasma

An US National Institutes of Health (NIH) panel says the current evidence doesn’t warrant using plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 to treat those with the disease. On 23 August, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency authorization for doctors to use convalescent plasma in the country. The FDA announcement raised controversy after FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn, US President Donald Trump and others repeated an incorrect claim about the proven efficacy of the treatment — for which Hahn later apologized. The NIH panel reviewed published and unpublished evidence, including that referred to by the FDA, and concluded that “there are insufficient data to recommend either for or against the use of convalescent plasma for the treatment of covid-19”.

The good news is that gold-standard trials are happening for the promising treatment, including the large RECOVERY trial taking place in the United Kingdom. “There is good science behind convalescent plasma and a good reason for thinking that it may turn out to be an effective treatment,” says epidemiologist Martin Landray, who is co-leading the trial. “The bottom line is that we don’t have enough data to know.”
Bloomberg | 8 min read & Nature | 7 min read