WHO warns against COVID-19 plasma therapy as US issues emergency authorization

On August 24, the World Health Organization said using plasma from the recovered patients to treat COVID-19 is still considered an “experimental”. WHO also said its work remains “low quality”. This came after the United States issued emergency permission for such therapies. Convalescent plasma therapy has emerged as the latest political flashpoint in the race to find a cure against coronavirus.

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On August 23, the United States Food and Drug Administration gave permission for its use, after US President Donald Trump accused the federal agency of impeding the roll-out of vaccines and therapeutics for political reasons.

This technique of curing coronavirus patients involves taking healthy antibody plasma from the recovered patients and transferring it to the infected patients in the hope they would recover. According to international media reports, WHO chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan said only a few clinical trials produced positive results and there is no convincing evidence for this therapy. She also added a few trials gave some good results, but their data was inconclusive.

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During a news conference Soumya Swaminathan told "At the moment, it's still very low-quality evidence", "So we recommend that convalescent plasma is still an experimental therapy, it should continue to be evaluated in well-designed randomized clinical trials."

Dr. Bruce Aylward, a senior adviser to WHO's director-general, said that convalescent plasma therapy can come with numerous side effects, from a mild fever and chills to more severe lung-related injuries

WHO asks for 'crucial funding'

On August 23, the World Health Organization said that at least 172 countries are engaging with the WHO’s COVAX plan aimed at providing equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine to countries without discrimination. In a live-streamed press conference, WHO said that nations now needed unanimous commitment towards the cooperation for crucial new funding needed for the COVID-19 vaccine. "Initially, when there will be limited supply (of COVID-19 vaccines), it's important to provide the vaccine to those at highest risk around the globe," the WHO's director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a media briefing.

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(With inputs from agency)