The United States of America on Thursday announced that blood sample of people who contracted the virus and have recovered will be used to drive a resistant response in its efforts to reduce the spread of the coronavirus and immunize its citizens.
The government has also approved the use of two antimalarial drugs – hydroxychloroquine and Gilead’s remdesivir- to fight the infection that has been designated a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.
This was disclosed by Stephen Hahn, Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA in a live conference. “If you have been exposed to Coronavirus and you are better, you don’t have the virus in your blood. We could collect the blood as a possible treatment, not as a proven treatment, concentrate itto see that it is virus-free and give it to other patients. The immune response could potentially provide a benefit,” he said.
President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that the FDA was in the process of approving the two antimalarial drugs for coronavirus treatment.
Labelling himself a “wartime president” who is fighting an invisible enemy, president Trump used emergency powers to ensure there are medical supplies against the coronavirus pandemic.
The 45th president of the US said he leveraged on the Defense Production Act, a 70-year-old law to give the government more power to steer production by private companies and try to overcome shortages in masks, ventilators and other supplies.
Meanwhile, the Labour Department of the US reported Thursday that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits surged last week by 70,000 due to the virus outbreak.
