Image Source: THE TRIBUNE

In a major boost to health research in the region, seven hospitals from Punjab and the PGI in Chandigarh have been selected as part of the ICMR’s nationwide trial to determine if convalescent plasma therapy could work in critical Covid-19 patients. Only 28 sites have been selected for the trial to be held across hospitals in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, UP, Karnataka, Telangana and Chandigarh. Ludhiana’s Satguru Pratap Singh Hospital, Christian Medical College and Dayanand Medical College, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, Government Medical College, Patiala, and Amritsar’s Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Sciences and Research and Government Medical College will be part of the trial approved by the Drug Controller General of India and the National Ethics Committee of the government.
SPS Hospital in Ludhiana is the same facility where ACP Anil Kohli was admitted when he was found Covid positive. We had wanted to try plasma therapy on him but were constrained by time, said KK Talwar, Advisor to Punjab Government. ACP Kohli had later succumbed to the virus. The ICMR trial is titled “Trial to assess the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma to limit Covid-19 associated complications in moderate disease.” The sample size for the study is 452, ICMR said. The therapy will involve the use of antibody rich plasma from the blood donated by cured Covid patients for the currently critical patients. The trial comes at a time when the count touched 56,342 today with 3,390 fresh cases. The fatalities rose to 1,886 seeing a rise of 103 over 24 hours. Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal today said, “If we comply with the lockdown measures, we can avoid a peak but even if one person fails us, we will see a spike in cases.” There are 216 districts in which no COVID-19 case has been reported to date, he said.