‘We want home runs, but this is probably a single’: El Paso doctor explains how plasma treatment is helping Covid-19 patients
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — It has been just more than seven months since the first coronavirus case was reported in the United States. Since then, more than 5.7 million Americans have been confirmed to be infected. In that time, several possible treatments for the virus have emerged, including the use of convalescent plasma.
President Trump announced the treatment had been granted emergency authorization for Covid-19 patients, which the President is calling a “breakthrough.”
The treatment relies on recovered Covid-19 patients donating blood. The blood with antibodies is then provided to other patients currently fighting the virus.
The Chief Medical Officer at Del Sol Medical Center, Dr. Ogechika Alozie said the treatment has already benefited some local patients, but it has not worked for everyone.
“If you use the anology of baseball, we're probably in the 5th to 6th inning of this,” he said. “We want home runs, but at the end of the day this is probably a single or a double. We’ve got to keep on getting those singles and doubles to get to the end of this game that is Covid.”
Dr. Alozie said the treatment is one of several that is helping local medical professionals reduce death rates among virus patients, and he’s urging all recovered patients to consider donating plasma.
“This bundle of therapies, it's what changing the mortality or the risk of somebody dying,” he said. “Going forward, I expect that we'll have more theraphies come out. We’ll have more therapeudic bundles. We’ll have more ways to protect people from death.”
Dr. Alozie said that while hospitals can treat sick patients, it is the public’s responsibility to help decrease the spread of the virus. Individuals can do this by wearing a mask, social distancing and reducing contact with other people.
