OF TREATING PATIENTS AT THE HEART OF THIS EPIDEMIC.
THIS MORNING AS PATIENTS WITH
COVID-19 CONTINUE TO PILE INTO
THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT AND ICU
AT MT. SINAI, THERE IS SOME VERY
PROMISING, POSSIBLY LIFESAVING
NEWS, FROM DEEP INSIDE THE
HOSPITAL’S LAB.
HOSPITAL’S LAB. >> WE HAVE SO MANY PATIENTS WHO
ARE SICK.
ARE SICK. THEY NEED SOME HOPE OF A
TREATMENT.
TREATMENT. >> DR. JIANG AND HIS COLLEAGUES
HAVE DEVELOPED A NEW TEST THAT
MAY SPEED UP AND IMPROVE AND OLD
THERAPY.
THERAPY. TRANS FUSING THE PLASMA OF
PATIENTS WHO HAVE RECOVERED FROM
COVID-19 INTO PATIENTS WHO ARE
CRITICALLY ILL.
CRITICALLY ILL. THE TECHNIQUE USED EFFECTIVELY
IN THE PAST IN SARS, H1N1 FLU
AND EBOLA EPIDEMIC.
MORE RECENTLY THE CHINESE USED
IT IN THEIR BATTLE WITH THE
CORONAVIRUS.
CORONAVIRUS. MT. SINAI’S NEW TEST, A CUTTING
EDGE WEAPON CREATED BY A TEAM
LED BY DR. FLORIAN CRAMER.
>> THEN YOU CAN GET A READOUT,
WHICH IS BASICALLY A CHANGE IN
COLOR.
COLOR. BY DOING THAT, WE CAN DETERMINE
IF SOMEBODY HAS HURRICANE DORIAN
IMMUNITY TO COVID-19.
>> THE DARKER, THE COLOR, THE
HIGHER THE ANTIBODIES.
>> WHILE OTHER TESTS MEASURE
WHETHER THE ANTIBODY IS THERE OR
NOT, OURS CAN MEASURE HOW MUCH
OF THE ANTIBODY IS THERE.
THAT’S IMPORTANT, BECAUSE WE CAN
IDENTIFY THOSE DONORS WITH A
HIGH AMOUNT OF ANTIBODY WHO
WOULD MOST LIKELY BENEFIT THE
PATIENT.
PATIENT. >> THE HOSPITAL PUT OUT A CALL
FOR THOSE WHO HAD RECOVERED AND
WAS STUNNED WHEN 10,000 PEOPLE
VOLUNTEERED.
VOLUNTEERED. DANNY WAS ONE OF THE FIRST.
HE AND HIS WIFE LIVE IN NEW
ROCHELLE, ONE OF THE FIRST HOT
SPOTS IN THE NEW YORK CITY AREA.
THEY WERE ONLY MILDLY ILL, NEVER
HOSPITALIZED, RECOVERING AT HOME
WITH THEIR THREE KIDS, NONE OF
WHOM GOT SICK.
>> AS SOON AS WE WERE RELEASED
FROM QUARANTINE, THE FIRST PLACE
WE WENT WAS MT. SINAI.
TO QUALIFY FOR THE DONATION
PROGRAM, YOU SIMPLY NEED TO HAVE
A BLOOD TEST.
STRAIGHT THERE ANTIBODY NUMBERS
ARE HIGH, HAVE YOU TO HAVE A
NEGATIVE SWAB, VERY SIMPLE.
>> WE HAVE A PICTURE-OF-YOU
CONTRIBUTING YOUR PLASMA.
WHAT WERE YOU THINKING.
>> THIS IS PROBABLY THE LEAST
WAY TO BE A HERO, DOESN’T TAKE
MUCH IMPACT.
MUCH IMPACT. >> FOUR DOSES OF PLASMA, TWO
DOSES BEING GIVEN TO THE SICKEST
PATIENTS HERE.
PATIENTS HERE. IN THE PAST FEW DAYS, MT. SINAI
HAS GIVEN 11 VERY SICK PATIENTS
THE PLASMA OF THOSE WHO HAVE
RECOVERED.
RECOVERED. IS IT WORKING?
I KNOW THE EXPRESSION GAME
CHANGER HAS A LOT OF WEIGHT TO
IT.
IT. BUT MIGHT THIS THERAPY BE A GAME
CHANGER?
CHANGER? >> I THINK WE’LL BE ABLE TO
EVALUATE THE FIRST PATIENTS WE
HAVE TREATED IN A COUPLE OF
WEEKS.
WEEKS. >> IT ISN’T JUST MT. SINAI
LOOKING TO GET CONVALESCENT
PLASMA THERAPY UP AND RUNNING
AROUND THE COUNTRY, A GROUP OF
DOCTORS IN 22 STATES FROM SOME
OF THE COUNTRY’S LEADING
RESEARCH CENTERS ARE
SPEARHEADING THE EFFORT.
THE GROUP STARTED AT JOHNS
HOPKINS WHERE THEY ARE FOCUSING
ON USING PLASMA TO KEEP HEALTH
WORKERS AND FIRST RESPONDERS
FROM GETTING ILL.
>> I BELIEVE THIS IS A POTENTIAL
DISEASE ALTERING TREATMENT.
>> DR. MICHAEL JOINER AT THE
MAYO CLINIC IN MINNESOTA IS ALSO
ONE OF THE LEADERS.
>> I’M HOPEFUL WE CAN MODIFY THE
COURSE OF THE DISEASE, PREVENT
HIGH-RISK INDIVIDUALS FROM
GETTING IT, REDUCE THE RISK OF
PEOPLE IN THE HOSPITAL FROM
NEEDING ICU CARE AND SHORTEN THE
STAY OF PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE
ICU.
ICU. >> SO DR. JOINER TOLD US THAT
THE MAYO CLINIC HAS, IN FACT,
TAKEN ITS FIRST PLASMA DONATION.
IN A FEW DAYS IT WILL PROBABLY
BE PUT INTO A PATIENT THEY ARE
HOPING TO KEEP OUT OF THE ICU.
ALL THE DOCTORS WE TALKED TO
SAID THE FDA IS BEING A TERRIFIC
PARTNER TRYING TO GET THIS OUT
THERE.
THERE. THEY ARE HOPEFUL WITHIN A FEW
DAYS, A FEW WEEKS, AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE, THEY WILL MAKE THIS
MT. SINAI AVAILABLE TEST
AVAILABLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY.