Bhubaneswar: Months after convalescent plasma (CP) therapy for serious Covid patients began in the state, serious doubts over its efficacy have come to the fore.
The State Health Department Thursday said that it has received no formal communication from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to discontinue Plasma Therapy.
The response from the state health department came after the ICMR recently admitted lesser effect of the therapy on critical Covid-19 patients and an announcement of the apex government research body to discontinue the therapy.
On the other hand, officials of the department also claimed that there was no order for discontinuing Ramdesivir which is also said to have shown lesser efficacy in the treatment of the disease.
The State government had launched several Plasma Banks to boost the treatment of critical patients in the state with the help of the plasma of the COVID cured persons.
The plasma was extracted from cured persons because of it developing antibodies against the viral disease. However, ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava recently said that there had been discussions on discontinuing Plasma Therapy for treatment of COVID-19 for serious patients.
The lower efficacy of Plasma Therapy and Ramdesivir is surely a setback in the treatment of COVID-19 amid aged and critical patients.