Some clinicians and scientists have written to Principal Scientific Advisor K Vijay Raghavan, cautioning against the irrational and non-scientific use of convalescent plasma for COVID-19 in the country. The public health professionals said the current evidence on plasma therapy in COVID-19 and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines are not based on the existing evidence. They also pointed out some very early evidence that indicates a possible association between emergence of variants with lower susceptibility to neutralising antibodies in immunosuppressed people given plasma therapy. This raises the possibility of more virulent strains developing due to irrational use of plasma therapy which can fuel the pandemic, the letter signed by experts like vaccinologist Gagandeep Kang and surgeon Pramesh C S said.
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In mid-March of 2020, soon after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, U.S. hospitals began to fill with gravely ill people. As cases surged, stores, schools, and businesses went remote. Healthcare professionals across the country worked feverishly to save lives but had no road map to help them handle the new threat.
As pandemic continues, new treatments being developed outside of vaccines
By: Scripps National
and last updated 2021-05-06 18:55:19-04
Infectious disease experts say now is the time for therapeutics to get the focus and attention that vaccines received at the start of the pandemic.
âWe need a pill that can keep people out of the hospital, and the time to develop that is right now, because the U.S. will continue to have outbreaks. India is in the midst of a massive outbreak and unless we can prevent hospitalizations, health care systems get overwhelmed and variants get bred and those variants come back to cause greater devastation,â said Dr. Rajesh T. Gandhi, IDSA fellow and HIV Medicine Association chair.
Stanford s Jay Bhattacharya Says There s No Reason for Fully Vaccinated Americans to Wear Masks
On 5/7/21 at 12:34 PM EDT I would recommend the CDC tell vaccinated people, Live your life free, Bhattacharya told
Newsweek on Friday. I mean there s no reason for vaccinated people either for themselves or for others to wear a mask, not really.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new guidance on April 27 for face coverings, stating that those who have been vaccinated can shed their masks outdoors while walking, running, hiking or biking alone, and when in small gatherings.
But the health protection agency stopped short of telling fully inoculated Americans that they could ditch face masks outdoors altogether. Masks are still recommended for large gatherings, such as sporting events or live performance, and in settings where there is a decreased ability to maintain social distancing.
As pandemic continues, new treatments being developed outside of vaccines
By: Scripps National
and last updated 2021-05-06 18:01:41-04
Infectious disease experts say now is the time for therapeutics to get the focus and attention that vaccines received at the start of the pandemic.
âWe need a pill that can keep people out of the hospital, and the time to develop that is right now, because the U.S. will continue to have outbreaks. India is in the midst of a massive outbreak and unless we can prevent hospitalizations, health care systems get overwhelmed and variants get bred and those variants come back to cause greater devastation,â said Dr. Rajesh T. Gandhi, IDSA fellow and HIV Medicine Association chair.