FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn
Under intense criticism for his statement that convalescent plasma donated by former coronavirus patients could reduce COVID-19 deaths by 35%, FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn apologized on Twitter late Monday.
The agency announced on Sunday that it had granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) for plasma donated by coronavirus survivors as a treatment for new patients. President Trump, Hahn and U.S. Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar all touted the 35% figure based on a small subgroup of hospitalized COVID-19 participants in a Mayo Clinic study — patients who were younger than 80 years old, not on ventilators and who received plasma that contained high levels of antibodies within 3 days of diagnosis, according to a report by the New York Times.
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