A coronavirus treatment just received emergency use authorization, but it’s not a miracle cure

[Chris Smith]

• A new coronavirus treatment might be more widely available to patients, but it's not the breakthrough the world might need.
• Convalescent plasma transfusions can save lives in severe COVID-19 patients, but it's not the miracle cure that can save everyone.
• The therapy has received emergency use approval, with President Trump touting it as a "historic breakthrough."
• Other health officials aren't convinced, as plasma transfusions have been found to work only in certain conditions. One other limitation is that none of the current studies have had a placebo control group, so the conclusions might not be entirely accurate.

After eight months of dealing with the novel coronavirus pandemic, the world has a few therapies that can reduce complications and can save lives. Dozens of other drugs are in various stages of clinical testing, and more than 150 experimental vaccine candidates are also in the works — of those, a handful of them have reached the critical Phase 3. The drugs that can save lives do not work on all patients who develop severe complications that can lead to death, however. There's no miracle cure that can save everyone. Also, as long as the infectivity rate remains high, the death rate will remain high as well. It's not only that the drugs aren't effective in all patients. It's also the strain on resources, including personnel, therapies, and devices, that can put a person's life at risk.

Another therapy joins the list of treatments that can improve the condition of COVID-19 patients, and that's something we've often discussed in the past few months. Antibody-reach blood plasma has just received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after reports said the approval had been put on hold. Sadly, like hydroxychloroquine, convalescent plasma is also being politicized. President Trump is touting it as a major breakthrough, hinting that it could save many lives. The problem with the EUA is that plasma hasn't gone through a proper study either. The benefits may be limited, recent studies have shown, and plasma won't save everyone. Thankfully, unlike hydroxychloroquine, plasma transfusions will not put anyone's lives at risk.

Continue reading...

Today's Top Deals

1. The black coronavirus face masks everyone wants are only 46¢ today at Amazon
2. CDC guidelines say everyone needs these 7 coronavirus essentials
3. Actual Purell hand sanitizer is in stock and shipping immediately from Amazon

Trending Right Now:

1. Doctors found a new drug that might block coronavirus infections
2. New guidelines say coronavirus antibody tests are pointless
3. Bill Gates says the coronavirus could kill millions of people who aren’t even infected

A coronavirus treatment just received emergency use authorization, but it’s not a miracle cure originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 24 Aug 2020 at 07:31:31 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Via BRG - Boy Genius Report