'Hahn has damaged his credibility, possibly beyond repair, and taken the credibility of the FDA down with him,' writes columnist hiltzikm.
Trump attacks the Food and Drug Administration and undermines its science while its leadership stays silent.
In short, the FDA’s announcement benefited no patients or researchers. It smacked of being timed to coincide with the start of the Republican National Convention, which opened Monday with Trump’s renomination. Hahn denies that the timing was anything but coincidental.Convalescent plasma has been used for about 100 years as treatment for other diseases. It has never been a “miracle” drug or a “breakthrough,” as Trump has described it.
The best one could say is that five out of 100 people in the trial — but really only three out of 100 — would have better survival rates. Even that conclusion is dubious, however, because the Mayo study doesn’t compare the patients who received plasma to those who didn’t receive it at all — it merely compares those who receive different versions of the plasma and on different schedules to each other.
From that, it’s impossible to tell what benefit convalescent plasma has on COVID-19 patients, if any. Two studies, in China and the Netherlands, that actually tested convalescent plasma against a placebo were both ended early because of safety concerns. But neither showed any positive effect before they were curtailed.
Hahn’s statement instantly drew a pushback from medical experts. Jonathan Reiner of George Washington University medical school called it
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