No ICMR Instruction To Withdraw Plasma Therapy From COVID Treatment: Odisha Govt

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Thursday said it has not received any official letter from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) regarding withdrawal of the Convalescent Plasma Therapy (CPT) and Remdesivir drug from the treatment protocol for COVID-19.

Briefing the media here, additional chief secretary, Health Pradipta Mahapatra said as the state government has not received any written instructions from the ICMR, the patients, who have been provided with the CPT and Remdesivir medicines for treatment, need not panic. “If the state government receives any letter from the ICMR in this regard, it will take necessary action immediately,” he added.

Notably, ICMR Director General Prof Balram Bhargava on October 20 had said that the discussions are on in the national task force on COVID-19 for deletion of plasma therapy from the national treatment guidelines as it does not reduce mortality or slow down the progression of COVID-19. He also said that the solidarity trials done by WHO, in which India was a participant, showed that the Remdesivir drug was not effective in reducing mortality in COVID-19 patients.