UN cautions that virus plasma treatment still experimental

LONDON (AP) — World Health Organization on Monday cautioned that using blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors to treat or patients is still considered an experimental rapy, voicing concern as a U.S. boost for treatment has many scientists afraid formal studies will be derailed.

On Sunday, U.S. Food and Drug ministration authorized what's called “emergency use” of treatment under its special powers to speed availability of promising experimental drugs during a public health crisis. action isn't same as approving plasma as safe and effective, and numerous rigorous studies are underway to find out if it really works.

So far, " results are t conclusive," WHO’s chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said during a press briefing. "At moment, it’s still very low-quality evidence.”

Convalescent plasma is a century-old treatment that was used to fight off flu and measles outbreaks in days before vaccines, and was tried more recently during Ebola outbreak. When body encounters a new germ, it makes proteins called antibodies that are specially targeted to fight infection. antibodies float in plasma — yellowish, liquid part of blood — which is collected from COVID-19 survivors and given to patients infected with coronavirus.

Swaminathan said WHO considered plasma rapy to be experimental and that it should continue to be evaluated. She said treatment is difficult to standardize: Plasma must be collected individually, and people produce different levels of antibodies.

“Of course, countries can do an emergency listing if y feel benefits outweigh risks,” she said. “But that’s usually done when you’re waiting for more definitive evidence.”

In a letter describing FDA's emergency action, ncy's chief scientist said treatment “should t be considered a new standard of care” for coronavirus infections, and that more data from studies will be available in coming months.

But alrey, so many COVID-19 patients have requested plasma rar than agreeing to be part of a research study that many scientists fear y won’t get a clear answer on wher treatment really works -- and if it does, how and when it should be used for best outcomes.

Martin Landray, of University of Oxford said that while rapy offers “huge promise,” re was still proof it works.

"re is a huge gap between ory and proven benefit,” he said in a statement.

If just a few thousand patients took part in research "we would have answer," said Landray, who is conducting a plasma study in U.K. "If effective, convalescent plasma could be rapidly used worldwide. If t, it could be abandoned,”

Stephen Griffin, an associate professor of medicine at University of Leeds, said re was still considerable uncertainty about immune system's response to COVID-19, making any potential use of convalescent plasma challenging.

FDA's action was anunced during a Sunday press briefing by U.S. President Donald Trump, who called it a “breakthrough.”

“It appears that lessons from hydroxychloroquine have t been learned,” Griffin said, referring to malaria drug touted by Trump and ors as a potential treatment for coronavirus.

FDA also granted hydroxychloroquine an emergency authorization before suspending it months later after several trials showed drug didn't work against COVID-19 and raised risk of heart, kidney, liver, and or problems.