Convalescent plasma treatment for COVID-19: Tempering expectations with the influenza experience

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the zoonotic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 has swept the world in 5 months. A proportion of cases develop severe respiratory tract infections progressing to acute respiratory distress syndrome and a diverse set of complications involving different organ systems. Faced with a lack of coronavirus-specific antiviral drugs and vaccines, hundreds of clinical trials have been undertaken to evaluate repurposed drugs. Convalescent plasma from recovered patients is an attractive option because antibodies can have direct or indirect antiviral activity and immunotherapy works well in principle, in animal models, and in anecdotal reports. However, the benefits of convalescent p..