Scientists are now testing to see whether an infusion of antibodies from people who've recovered from COVID-19 could protect someone who's been exposed to the virus and is at high risk of infection.
Blood plasma — the yellowish, cell-free portion that remains after red and white blood cells have been filtered out by a machine and returned to the plasma donor — is rich with antibodies. Plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients might prove useful in preventing infection as well as in treatment, scientists say.Blood plasma — the yellowish, cell-free portion that remains after red and white blood cells have been filtered out by a machine and returned to the plasma donor — is rich with antibodies.
One of the first volunteers for this study is a physician who treats transplant patients at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.His daughter from Los Angeles wanted to come home to be near her sister, who was about to give birth to her first baby. Orens says the traveling daughter was careful about protecting her health in Los Angeles and did everything she could think of to stay safe on her flight to Baltimore.
She wore masks through the airports and in the car ride back to her parents' house. Once there, she kept her distance from them.Though she had no symptoms,"she was positive," Orens says."And fortunately my wife and I were negative." But they were still at high risk of contracting the disease, given the close contact with their daughter.
The infusion took about an hour, Orens says."I didn't feel anything except for the pinprick from the IV, and we went on our merry way.""We'll follow him along to see if he develops symptoms and if he turns positive," says, who is directing the study. Shoham says he plans to enroll up to 500 patients — though, in the best-case scenario, if the treatment is highly effective he won't need to study that many people.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
These states require travelers to self-quarantine or present negative COVID-19 testTraveling? More than half of U.S. states require or recommend that visitors and residents returning from other states quarantine. And some states are requiring a negative COVID-19 test.
Read more »
‘It’s really devastating us’: Beach towns fear they won’t survive a summer of COVID-19Retailers everywhere are fighting to survive the challenges of COVID-19. But few merchants are under fire like those in America’s beach towns.
Read more »
Target stores to close Thanksgiving due to COVID-19 pandemic, following Walmart's holiday closing announcementTarget stores will be closed on Thanksgiving due to the coronavirus pandemic, but plan to start rolling out its biggest deals of the year in stores and online in October.
Read more »
The Teachers (And School Staff) Are Not The Enemy Here––COVID-19 Highlights Their Enormous WorthWe've always known that school does more than just educate kids. But COVID-19 has proven it.
Read more »