Trust "is the absolute foundation" of an effective pandemic response, one expert said.
FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn's gross overstatement of a key statistic for COVID-19 death rates erodes trust in public health at a critical juncture, experts say.
Trust"is the absolute foundation," said Dr. Howard Koh, a professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health who was an assistant secretary for health in the Obama administration.Doctors rely on scientific evidence to guide their recommendations for patients, particularly as they relate to previously unknown pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Convalescent plasma has been shown to be safe. Though randomized clinical trials are ongoing, they have not yet proven that the therapy actually works. Backlash was swift. Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California, tweeted that the claim was"absolutely wrong," adding,"there is no evidence at this juncture to support any survival benefit."
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