English
Specials
    Go Ad-Free
    My Alerts
    Moneycontrol
    Moneycontrol PRO
    Sansaar
    HomeNewsIndiaArvind Kejriwal congratulates Delhi after Trump says US will use plasma therapy to treat COVID-19

    Arvind Kejriwal congratulates Delhi after Trump says US will use plasma therapy to treat COVID-19

    US FDA has approved the use of blood plasma from recovered coronavirus patients as a treatment against the disease that has killed over 176,000 in the US

    Moneycontrol News
    August 24, 2020 / 21:27 IST
    File image: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

    After the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave emergency authorisation to use plasma therapy to treat COVID-19 patients in the US, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal congratulated Delhiites, saying what "Delhi did yesterday, America does today".

    The Delhi government was the first to seek permission for trials of plasma therapy in April, and first to open a plasma bank in India in July, the Delhi government said in a statement.

    COVID-19 Vaccine

    Frequently Asked Questions

    View more
    How does a vaccine work?

    A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

    How many types of vaccines are there?

    There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

    What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

    Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

    View more
    Show

    Related stories

    US President Donald Trump on August 23 announced that the FDA had approved the use of blood plasma from recovered coronavirus patients as a treatment against the disease that has killed over 176,000 in the US.

    "Today I am pleased to make a truly historic announcement, in our battle against China virus, that will save countless lives. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has issued an emergency use authorisation for a treatment known as convalescent plasma," Trump said.

    Trump described the procedure as a powerful therapy, as he appealed to Americans to come forward to donate plasma if they had recovered from Covid-19.

    The Delhi government was the first in the country to apply for permission from the Centre to carry out trials of plasma therapy at the Lok Nayak Jan Prakash  (LNJP) hospital in April.

    After encouraging results of the initial trials of plasma therapy in critical COVID-19 patients, the Delhi government then requested the Centre to allow plasma therapy in Delhi, which was later granted.

    The first plasma bank in the country was subsequently started in The Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) by the Delhi government on July 2, with an objective to provide free of cost convalescent plasma to patients after which another plasma bank was launched at the LNJP Hospital in Delhi.

    However, the World Health Organisation has called plasma therapy experimental, and that the preliminary results showing it may work are still "inconclusive".

    Moneycontrol News
    first published: Aug 24, 2020 09:27 pm

    Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!

    Subscribe to Tech Newsletters

    • On Saturdays

      Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend.

    • Daily-Weekdays

      Stay on top of the latest tech trends and biggest startup news.

    Advisory Alert: It has come to our attention that certain individuals are representing themselves as affiliates of Moneycontrol and soliciting funds on the false promise of assured returns on their investments. We wish to reiterate that Moneycontrol does not solicit funds from investors and neither does it promise any assured returns. In case you are approached by anyone making such claims, please write to us at grievanceofficer@nw18.com or call on 02268882347