The discussion around U.S. use of convalescent plasma as a Covid-19 treatment continued on Tuesday. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn acknowledged late Monday that criticism of his comments about the benefits of the treatment are “entirely justified.” Hahn, at a press conference with President Donald Trump, said that of 100 Covid-19 patients, “35 would have been saved because of the administration of plasma.” In a tweet Monday, however, he acknowledged that the interpretation of the data was incorrect and that the “data show a relative risk reduction not an absolute risk reduction.”
The following data was compiled by Johns Hopkins University:
- Global cases: More than 23.6 million
- Global deaths: At least 813,700
- U.S. cases: More than 5.7 million
- U.S. deaths: At least 177,200
