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Trump Urges Americans to Donate Plasma to Fight Covid-19

Trump Urges Americans to Donate Plasma to Fight Covid-19

President Donald Trump urged Americans who have recovered from Covid-19 to donate their plasma at local blood banks to help those who contract the virus potentially get better faster.

People who have had the virus “have something very special,” Trump said Thursday, and should “volunteer to donate plasma as soon as you can.”

Plasma is the liquid portion of blood, and when taken from someone who has recovered, it’s known as convalescent plasma. It’s thought that the antibodies that occur after a person recovers from the novel coronavirus can help others fight the virus. The White House aims to make 500,000 units of convalescent plasma available by the fall, senior administration officials said at a separate briefing on Thursday.

“This is going to be a major national initiative in the months ahead,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said.

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, one of the country’s biggest commercial lab companies, plans to make free antibody tests available to physicians to add on to routine bloodwork for patients to help identify who might be a convalescent plasma donor, Chief Executive Officer Adam Schechter said at the event with Trump.

“The only thing we ask is if anybody has antibodies, they please consider” donating plasma, Schechter said.

Mask, Resumed Briefings

Trump, who spoke at the American Red Cross headquarters in Washington, has been appearing regularly at briefings for reporters and other events focused on the coronavirus after polls have shown growing disapproval of his performance on the virus. He wore a mask before the briefing and hung back while observing a donor giving plasma at the event.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, who also appeared at the Red Cross event, said that plasma is better when used early in the disease, rather than on those who are already hospitalized. The U.S. government is working with the Mayo Clinic to provide it to Covid-19 patients at more than 2,700 sites across the country.

“Initial data available from studies using Covid-19 convalescent plasma for the treatment of individuals with severe or life-threatening disease indicate that a single dose of 200 mL showed benefit for some patients, leading to improvement,” according to the program’s website.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services made it easier for the agency and insurers to track use of convalescent plasma, as well as of Gilead Sciences Inc.’s virus treatment remdesivir. The CMS assigned plasma and remdesivir codes that will go into effect Aug. 1.

Vaccine Availability

Both treatments like plasma and vaccines are part of the administration’s Operation Warp Speed effort to get drugs and preventatives against Covid-19 to market rapidly. Trump asked Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn about vaccine development at the Red Cross event, but Hahn stressed the “bright line” between Operation Warp Speed and the FDA in a continued attempt to show the agency will resist pressure to approve anything that doesn’t meet its standards.

Operation Warp Speed won’t invest in any vaccines that are expected to come to market in 2022, a senior administration official said Thursday at the other briefing. The White House aims to support and secure the first wave of shots that will be ready for use before year-end or in 2021.

Last week, the U.S. government clinched a $1.95 billion agreement for 100 million doses of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s coronavirus vaccine, subject to regulatory approval. The official said the deal reflects their lowest-risk investment in a shot, as the U.S. will only pay for doses if the candidate proves safe and effective in late-stage trials. Upfront investments in research, development and production are much riskier to the U.S. taxpayer, though the White House continues to evaluate other vaccine candidates to which it can provide financial backing or secure in advance, the official said.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.