"It might be the next best thing to a coronavirus vaccine.
Scientists have devised a way to use the antibody-rich blood plasma
of COVID-19 survivors for an upper-arm injection that they say could
inoculate people against the virus for months.
Using technology that’s been proven effective in preventing other
diseases such as hepatitis A, the injections would be administered to
high-risk healthcare workers, nursing home patients, or even at public
drive-through sites — potentially protecting millions of lives, the
doctors and other experts say.
The two scientists who spearheaded the proposal — an 83-year-old
shingles researcher and his counterpart, an HIV gene therapy expert —
have garnered widespread support from leading blood and immunology
specialists, including those at the center of the nation’s COVID-19
plasma research.
But the idea exists only on paper. Federal officials have twice
rejected requests to discuss the proposal, and pharmaceutical companies —
even acknowledging the likely efficacy of the plan — have declined to
design or manufacture the shots, according to a Times investigation. The
lack of interest in launching development of immunity shots comes amid
heightened scrutiny of the federal government’s sluggish pandemic
response.
Here is
more from the LA Times, substantive throughout, via
Anecdotal."
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