Although Egypt has recorded a sudden increase in COVID-19 cases with Saturday at 298, Sunday at 272 and today at 348, the process of looking into treatments is ongoing; with the most recent attempt being plasma therapy. While many people around the world remain in quarantine at home, the discovery of a cure would be a step forward in resuming life as normal.
The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population said on Friday that it would continue injecting more COVID-19 patients with the plasma cells taken from recovered cases. “The results of this experimental treatment protocol will be announced straight away, it said, adding that once a positive response can be verified this plasma therapy will be expanded as a treatment method,” Egypt Independent wrote.
Ahram explained these trials began after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was encouraging those recovered to donate their plasma to help fight the virus. The FDA shared that this type of plasma would help curb the severity and length of the illness COVID-19 causes.
The Global Scene
There are other countries around the world, including the United States and United Kingdom, who are using plasma therapy as a treatment method.
The FDA put Mayo Clinic in charge of leading an initiative in testing how effective the convalescent plasma may be in treating patients. Using convalescent plasma cells for treating patients is no new creation as it has been used for over a 100 years and was used to treat the 1918 flu pandemic too, as per CNBC.
For the most part, the use of plasma therapy does not directly mean that a clear, assured treatment exists. So far, most doctors recommend pain relievers, cough syrup, drinking a lot of fluids and rest; all while in quarantine.
Whether a cure will be discovered soon is unclear and various researchers are predicting that the pandemic could stay for as long as two more years. The Washington Post wrote “A vaccine is not predicted to significantly change the projections because one will realistically not be available until after the worst of the outbreak,” on Instagram.
Interestingly, the UAE has also been doing its own research and recently developed a potential breakthrough with stem cells. Egypt Today reported that this treatment was discovered by a team of doctors and researchers at the Abu Dhabi Stem Cell Center (ADSCC). They explained that the treatment involves extracting stem cells from the patient’s blood and reintroducing them after activation.
“The treatment was administered in the UAE to 73 COVID-19 patients who have all been successfully treated and cured of the virus by inhaling the treatment into their lungs after it has been nebulized into a fine mist,” the article reported.
What Does This Mean For Pharmaceuticals?
Both plasma therapy and stem cells do not come from research done by pharmaceuticals, which ironically is what the world usually waits for when it comes to finding treatments. Regardless, a ‘treatment’ is not a ‘vaccine’ and while businesses around the world are collapsing, the pharmaceutical industry is thriving during the pandemic as different companies are racing to find a vaccine.
An article by CNN titled “What happens if a coronavirus vaccine is never developed? It has happened before,” explained that it takes time to come up with the right vaccine; and COVID-19 is no different.
However, say that a vaccine isn’t developed as soon as we all hope, life will simply have to return to normal anyway, the article explained. True that the economic impact has already surfaced and is overflowing, but a person’s health and life should be deemed more valuable. Hence, resuming life eventually will happen, but it needs to happen in a way where everyone can take the necessary precautions.
Stay At Home
As seen in several countries, the COVID-19 virus count dramatically increases before it can go down. Those same countries have taken the plunge after loosely following the imposed curfews and laws.
Recently, due to Ramadan and a curfew until 9pm, families have been going out and resuming life normally. While there is nothing particularly wrong with that, precautions need to be taken and this includes social distancing, wearing masks (and gloves if necessary) and staying at home if you aren’t feeling well.
Again, Egypt is on the brink. Health authorities recommend staying at home and only leaving when necessary, so going to the malls and seeing family regularly is not worth the risk. As previously reported, people can be carriers of the virus without actually being sick and it would still be contagious.
