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Why a treatment used for over a century on diseases like measles, mumps and influenza could work to treat the new coronavirus strain.
USA TODAY
Infectious disease experts are cautioning that more data is needed before widely using blood plasma therapy as a possible treatment for COVID-19 after President Donald Trump announced its authorization Sunday.
“This is a powerful therapy,” Trump said during a news conference, describing the authorization as “a very historic breakthrough” although it has already been used experimentally on 70,000 patients. The World Health Organization said it’s still considered “experimental.”
As two big storms swirl toward the Gulf of Mexico, the COVID-19 threat is weighing heavily on plans for possible evacuations. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said he’s working with the federal government to use hotels and motels if large evacuations become necessary. The same thing is happening in California, as wildfires ravage the state.
Some significant developments this weekend:
- The CDC removed its 14-day quarantine recommendation for travelers returning from a trip outside of the country or their state.
- More than 176,000 in the U.S. have died of COVID-19. A new poll shows that a 57% majority of registered Republican voters consider that number “acceptable” when “evaluating the U.S. efforts against the coronavirus pandemic,” compared with 31% of voters overall.
- Florida surpassed 600,000 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday.
📈 Today’s numbers: The U.S. has 5.7 million confirmed infections and more than 176,000 deaths. Worldwide, there have been more than 809,000 deaths and 23.4 million cases, according to John Hopkins University data.
📰 What we’re reading: Delivering millions of vaccine doses will be a daunting task, and the federal government wants a system ready by Nov. 1. Freezer farms and UPS are part of the plan.
This file will be updated throughout the day. For updates in your inbox, subscribe to the Daily Briefing.
WHO says plasma treatment still ‘experimental’ after Trump announcement
The World Health Organization says using plasma from the recovered to treat COVID-19 is still considered an “experimental” therapy and that the preliminary results showing it may work are still “inconclusive.”
WHO’s chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said the treatment is difficult to standardize since people produce different levels of antibodies and the plasma must be collected individually from recovered patients.
Dr. Bruce Aylward, a senior adviser to WHO’s director-general, warned of numerous possible side effects, from a mild fever and chills to more severe lung-related injuries. U.S. infectious disease experts echo WHO’s caution.
Trump called a news conference Sunday to announce his administration has granted emergency use authorization for treatment using blood plasma, though more than 70,000 patients have already received it on an experimental basis
“This is a powerful therapy,” Trump said, describing the authorization as “a very historic breakthrough.”
– David Jackson, Adrianna Rodriguez, Associated Press
Iowa reports first child death from COVID-19
The Iowa Department of Public Health reported the state’s first child death from COVID-19 on Sunday. The 5-year-old child died in June and had “significant underlying health conditions,” officials announced in a news release.
The department said the state’s medical examiner completed its investigation on August 6. Officials performed a number of tests that take months to complete but found that COVID-19 was the cause of the child’s death.
The announcement comes one day before some schools prepare to start the new year on Monday. Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered schools to reopen for at least 50 percent in-person instruction, despite a pandemic that has already killed 1,036 people and seen infections soar in recent days.
Florida surpasses 600,000 infections of COVID-19
Florida’s coronavirus caseload broke 600,000 Sunday as the number of new infections reported statewide continued slowing down.
The state Health Department reported Florida’s COVID-19 case count grew by 2,974 since Saturday to reach 600,571, a 0.5% increase, among the lowest recorded since the pandemic began in March.
While the Health Department typically receives fewer positive viral tests from labs during the weekend, the number of new cases it has reported daily has grown the statewide count by less than 1% each day since Aug. 16.
– Chris Persaud, Palm Beach Post
13 killed in stampede at Peru nightclub defying coronavirus restrictions
Thirteen people died in a stampede at a disco in Peru after a police raid to enforce the country’s lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Sunday. The stampede happened at the Thomas disco in Lima, where about 120 people had gathered for a party on Saturday night, the Interior Ministry said.
People tried to escape through the only door of the second-floor disco, trampling one another and becoming trapped in the confined space, according to authorities. After the stampede, police had to force open the door.
“I feel sorry for the relatives… but also anger and indignation with the business people who organized the event,” Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra said at a public event in the south of the country. He urged judicial authorities to punish those who had broken the law.
Some 23 people were arrested, and 15 of those tested positive for the new coronavirus and will be quarantined, Claudio Ramírez, a Health Ministry official, told reporters.
Joe Biden has not been tested for COVID-19, campaign says
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has not been tested for the coronavirus though he is confident he could not have been infected, his campaign said Sunday.
“He has not been tested,” Kate Bedingfield, deputy Biden campaign manager, said on ABC News “This Week.” She added that “moving forward should he need to be tested, he certainly would be. But he has not been tested yet.”
Bedingfield said Biden, 77, has followed the “strictest protocols” to prevent exposure to the virus and was therefore confident he had not been infected. She said everyone is around Biden “is undergoing the appropriate testing.”
“He has not had the virus,” she said.
– William Cummings
COVID-19 resources from USA TODAY
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Contributing: The Associated Press
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