FDA Gives Plasma Go-Ahead to Treat COVID-19, Experts Skeptical

White House officials hail convalescent plasma as a major breakthrough, but scientists say evidence supporting its effectiveness is still lacking.

Written byAmanda Heidt

| 3 min read

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blood, plasma, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, pandemic, coronavirus, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, emergency use authorization, EUA, treatment

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President Donald Trump announced yesterday (August 23) that the US Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization for the use of convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19, a disease that has so far killed more than 170,000 people in the US.

“To deliver treatments and vaccines, we’re removing unnecessary barriers and delays, not by cutting corners, but by marshaling the full power of the federal government,” Trump said at a press conference announcing the decision. “Based on the science and the data the FDA has made the independent determination that the treatment is safe and very effective.”

While he hailed the new treatment as a “major breakthrough,” the scientific community has largely reacted with skepticism, in part because the authorization was based on a handful of studies from the Mayo Clinic that failed to include appropriate randomization and controls.

“I watched this in horror,” ...

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Amanda Heidt
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Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.
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