COVID-19 treatment: Yogi Adityanath asks medical authorities to examine plasma therapy

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Uttar Pradesh Prime Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday asked state medical authorities to promote plasma therapy for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 after examining its efficacy. The Prime Minister, while chairing a high-level meeting of officials to take stock of the UP’s anti-COVID fight, also stressed the need for extensive testing of people living in and around areas declared critical areas, said additional chief secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi. He said the prime minister also appealed to people, who visited hospitals for emergency treatment, to go to the only hospitals approved by the Department of Health and Medicine.

Awasthi said the prime minister noted that several news reports recently appeared about positive results of plasma therapy in treating patients with COVID-19. “In view of this, the efficacy of the new treatment protocol should be reviewed and promoted in the state,” Adityanath said, while chairing the meeting at which he also instructed officials to ensure oxygen availability for COVID patients- 19.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recently allowed states to initiate clinical trials of plasma therapy for COVID-19. Nearly 100 institutes have shown interest in studying how safe and efficient plasma therapy is in the treatment of COVID-19 skates. Several states like Kerala, Gujarat and Punjab have already started using plasma therapy for crown infected patients. Convalescent plasma therapy is an experimental procedure for patients with COVID-19.

In this treatment, plasma from a COVID-19-cured patient is transfused into a seriously ill coronavirus patient. The idea behind this therapy is that immunity can be transferred from a healthy person to a sick patient using convalescent plasma. This therapy uses antibodies from the blood of a patient with a cured coronavirus to treat another critically ill patient.

The blood of the recovered COVID-19 patient develops antibodies to fight COVID-19. Once the blood from the first patient is infused into the second patient, those antibodies will begin to fight the coronavirus in the second person. The process for donating plasma is similar to donating blood and takes about an hour. Several countries around the world, including the United Kingdom and the United States, have also started plasma therapy trials.

During the meeting, the prime minister also issued instructions to stop inter-district and inter-state transportation, and ensure that the ration is available to each and every one, said additional chief secretary (household) Awasthi. Speaking of the need to visit only approved hospitals for emergency treatment, Awasthi said: “If someone becomes ill, he / she should go to the hospitals, only approved by the medical and health department, and not anywhere else. Do not go to a hospital not approved for emergencies. Going to the emergency units of unapproved hospitals will also be life-threatening for other patients. Emergency services have been allowed only in those hospitals, where there is sufficient equipment and trained personnel, ”he said. He said the prime minister has also ordered that people in areas that have been declared COVID-19 hot spots must undergo extensive testing, as do people living near the hot spots. “Pool testing can also be done in areas, where it is needed. Special arrangements must be made for testing at Kanpur, where the burden of proof is high, ”he said.

CM Adityanath also emphasized the need for quarantined people to follow the rules of social distancing, Awasthi said. Referring to the cases of COVID-19 in Rae Bareli, Awasthi said: “The people quarantined in Rae Bareli tested negative first, while in the second test they tested positive for COVID-19.”

Seeking to promote the use of the Aarogya Setu app, Awasthi said the app keeps him aware of his environment and the possible COVID threat. The Aarogya Setu application has been downloaded by almost a million people in the state. This is a great achievement. The application generates alerts and almost 200 alerts have already arrived. This will be used by the health department and concerns the district magistrates, ”he said. Disinfection of shelter homes and community kitchens should also be done regularly, and medical tests by those who work here should also be done. Adherence to home quarantine by students, who have returned home to the state from Kota, should be reported on the Mukhyamantri “1076” helpline, according to a statement issued by the UP government.