The government has dropped plasma therapy from Covid treatment protocol.
- Covid National Task Force on May 17, 2021 released new clinical guidelines for management of mild, moderate and severe Covid cases.
- Plasma therapy does not find a mention under the new guidelines. The decision came on the basis of recommendations of experts from AIIMS, ICMR-COVID-19 National Task Force, and Joint Monitoring Group of Union Health Ministry.
What is plasma therapy?
- The plasma therapy includes transfusion of COVID-19 antibodies from the blood of a recovered patient to the one being treated.
- However, it has not been found effective in reducing the progression to severe disease nor has a decrease in the fatality rate been observed.
