Satyendar Jain Says Plasma Therapy Can Still Be Used In Covid Treatment On Doctor's Advice

Centre drops plasma therapy from Covid-19 treatment protocol, but Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain still support its use for treatment of adult Covid patients.

India on Monday removed convalescent plasma therapy from the country's clinical management guidelines for Covid-19, stating that it did not help in reducing the progression to severe Covid disease or death. But Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday said that it may still be used on the suggestion of doctors. But he also noted that "there is no sure-shot specific medicine meant only for treatment against Covid -19."

Plasma therapy involves collecting plasma, a blood component called plasma rich in virus-fighting antibodies, from recovered Covid-19 patients and using it to create antibodies for those infected. Jain himself was administered plasma therapy last year when he tested positive for Covid-19 and his symptoms aggravated. After beating the disease, the health minister said that plasma therapy saved his life and many patients have also benefited from it. He didn't support the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)'s decision to remove plasma therapy from the national guidelines for treatment of Covid-19. In fact, Delhi was the first state to start a plasma bank last year. Plasma banks were launched at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) in Vasant Kunj, the Delhi government's Lok Nayak and Guru Teg Bahadur hospitals.

Why was plasma therapy dropped from Covid-19 treatment protocol?

The ICMR-Covid-19 National Task Force, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, and Union ministry of health and family welfare, jointly issued the revised guidelines for management of adult Covid-19 patients, removing the convalescent plasma therapy. In the earlier, the Centre had allowed "off label" use of plasma therapy, which means with unofficial approval, and as an "investigational therapy", but not as a routine line of treatment. It was also only advised in patients with moderate symptoms at the stage of infection, within seven days of the onset of symptoms.

However, a growing evidence suggests no COVID-19 benefit for convalescent plasma. The PLACID trial by the ICMR that was conducted at 39 centres across India, also concluded that the therapy did not prevent progression to severe disease or reduce the number of deaths. The results of the study was released in September last year.

Daily Covid positivity rate declines to 5.78 % in Delhi

Meanwhile, Delhi's daily positivity rate has declined to 5.78 per cent, with 3,846 new Covid cases reported in the last 24 hours, according to the Delhi government's health bulletin issued on Wednesday. Though this downward trend is a hopeful sign, Jain asserted that Covid protection guidelines should be strictly followed until the daily positivity rate is reduced to 2 percent.

With inputs from agencies