The ICMR recently discontinued plasma therapy for treating patients of Covid-19. Meanwhile, Dr D.S. Rana, chairman of a reputed private hospital in Delhi, told The Sunday Guardian that remdesivir injections were not successful for treating Covid patients and should be discontinued too.
Now, in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Guardian, Dr Naveet Wig, chairperson of the AIIMS Covid Task Force and HoD of Medicine, has said that both plasma therapy and remdesivir are effective when used on Covid patients.
“Plasma therapy has been found to be useful in specific conditions. In the first seven days since any patient is infected with Covid, if the patient is diabetic, if they are old and the body is less able to fight against this virus, and if they test negative for antibodies, then, if given good plasma, it will be effective. That plasma is an anti-viral medicine,” said Wig.
“Some science studies and the US FDA have said that within seven days, if we use plasma therapy for patients of Covid-19, it can be effective in the first three days. The strain neutralises with this therapy,” he further said.
However, plasma therapy cannot be given to patients who have been infected for more than seven days because they already have antibodies, he added. Patients who are on ventilator support will also not be affected by plasma therapy, he said.
Regarding remdesivir, Wig said, “We do not administer remdesivir injections for every patient. Remdesivir is also an anti-viral drug, given to patients who are hospitalized, on low-flow oxygen and within the first ten days.”
He added that whether it is for patients with mild symptoms or for patients using a ventilator, it is for the doctor to decide. “The guidelines are only for guidance. The doctor who is treating the Covid patient knows better about what treatment is best for that patient.”
“We should treat illness like a disease. Science should be treated in the manner of science. Medicine is an art, and that art is available only with a doctor. Not available with a scientist,” said Wig.