Coronavirus: UAE Begins Clinical Trials of Plasma Therapy
Clinical trials of plasma therapy to treat COVID-19 are taking place in the UAE.
In the absence of a vaccine, doctors and scientists across the world are looking to so-called convalescent plasma because they consider it low risk and because it has been effective during past epidemics.
The treatment injects antibody-rich plasma from people who have recovered from the novel coronavirus into people who have severe cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. Antibodies are proteins in the blood that fight specific bacteria and viruses.
Health experts in the country are also looking at the impact of drugs such as chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine.
Dr Farida Al Hosani, the official spokesperson of the UAE health sector, said research is being carried out to assess how effective each potential treatment is.
There are currently 13 new drive-through coronavirus testing centres across the UAE, while in the UAE alone there are currently 3,736 confirmed cases and 20 deaths.
