Someone needs to explain to me how 5 days ago the FDA had decided to HOLD on the authorization but then suddenly reverse that decision? It is almost as if politics were more important than science.
F.D.A.’s Emergency Approval of Blood Plasma Is Now on Hold
Government health leaders including Dr. Francis S. Collins and Dr. Anthony S. Fauci urged caution last week, citing weak data from the country’s largest plasma study.
By Noah Weiland, Sharon LaFraniere and Sheri Fink
Aug. 19, 2020
"WASHINGTON — Last week, just as the Food and Drug Administration was preparing to issue an emergency authorization for blood plasma as a Covid-19 treatment, a group of top federal health officials including Dr. Francis S. Collins and Dr. Anthony S. Fauci intervened, arguing that emerging data on the treatment was too weak, according to two senior administration officials.
The authorization is on hold for now as more data is reviewed, according to H. Clifford Lane, the clinical director at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/19/us/p ... id-19.html
I knew that the Iditarod race is in honor of the transport of medicine to Nome; but did not know it was to deliver a similar plasma serum. It was used against Diptheria, until they found a vaccine. To me there is also a touch of irony that the USPS was involved in seting up the dog's route and relay teams were stationed at "Post Offices" of the time.
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161014 ... se-by-dogs
Honestly, if this latest medical application does helps against COVID-19, only the wealthy 1% will likely get it.
"Extracting plasma is cumbersome. It begins much like a blood donation, with a needle inserted into a vein. The blood is drawn into a machine with a centrifuge, which filters the plasma and returns the rest of the blood to the body. The plasma must be stored at freezing temperatures.
It cannot be mass produced."
Also in the article:
"Dr. Lipkin said that, in retrospect, he might have played a role in shaping plasma’s fame, unknowingly undermining his own trial. In March, he appeared on television shows like “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on Fox Business Network, where he extolled its potential benefits — a move that, he speculates, could have led administration officials to move more quickly to expand access.
“I share some responsibility for this,” he said. “I think there are all kinds of arguments one can make based on history, having a precedent. But that’s not a substitute for rigorous science.”"
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/heal ... lasma.html
As they should, science is looking at all straws, and reaching back at 1840's style medicine is smart, but not worth the headlines it is getting.
) from Pittsburgh. It is a very small private company based on its PPP filling, with an annual payroll less $1 million.
