The US Food and Drug Administration announced an emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma in a bid to treat COVID-19 disease, claiming that the product comprises more known benefits as compared to known potential risks. The federal agency revealed that convalescent plasma has been used to treat over 70,000 patients.

The effectiveness of convalescent plasma in treating COVID-19 is promising simply because it is derived from the blood of people who have already recovered from the deadly coronavirus. During a White House briefing, Donald Trump said he was pleased to make a truly historic announcement in the country's battle against coronavirus, noting that it will save several lives.

Trump went to say that the treatment will be made more accessible following the aforesaid announcement. The president said last week that some health officials were playing politics regarding Emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma, and said the FDA refrained from granting a EUA for political reason.

A source close to the White House Coronavirus Task Force told CNN on Sunday that the FDA had analyzed data before announcing its EUA decision, but the official wasn't personally involved in reviewing the data. They noted that the agency is under no obligation to talk to someone outside about its decision.

Convalescent plasma is derived from the blood of those who survived COVID-19, which is caused by the coronavirus. Earlier this year, the FDA made a group of scientists to try convalescent plasma on patients and monitor its impact, and it has already been used to help over 60,000 patients recover from COVID-19.

convalescent plasma is limited in terms of supply, just like blood, and can only be taken from donors. While some studies seem to make promising claims, clinical trial data on its effectiveness to treat COVID-19 is still scarce. Some of those trials have begun.

US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar cited studies of 70,000 volunteers to justify the EUA. He noted that the data they collected indicates that patients who were treated with plasma containing high levels of antibodies within just three days of being diagnosed were able to reap more benefits from treatment.

About 35 percent of patients who benefited from the treatment had better survival chances, Azar told in a White House briefing. He went on to say that a drug development of something around 35 percent mortality reduction will be a major advance in terms of the treatment of patients.

Azar could be referring to a study of 35,000 patients that were treated with convalescent plasma. According to the study, 8.7 percent of patients who received the treatment within just three days of diagnosis succumbed to the virus, while 12 percent of patients who were treated at least four days after their diagnosis died, showing a difference of nearly 37 percent.