Clinical trials for treatment of COVID-19 patients underway at GPH

Clinical trials for treatment of positive COVID-19 cases are currently underway at Guyana’s main COVID-19 treatment facility, the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Karen Gordon-Boyle announced yesterday.

The announcement was made during the Ministry of Public Health’s daily COVID-19 update, where Gordon-Boyle said that while there is no vaccine or approved treatment for the virus, clinical trials are being done at the GPH, where the most severe cases are being treated.

It was previously reported that Guyana had expressed interest in the usage of convalescent plasma from recovered patients of the virus, to treat those persons who were at severe stages of the disease. Sources at the hospital revealed that this is one of the treatment methods that is currently being used as the clinical trials continue at the facility.

Gordon-Boyle previously said authorities in Guyana would be open to trying therapy that has been used widely in other places like the United States and she specifically mentioned the use of the plasma of persons who would have recovered from the disease. “The plasma of such persons would be rich in antibodies and that can possibly help someone who is struggling to have enough antibodies,” she said in a previous interview.“… This has been used in some countries and there’s a possibility that we can explore it,” Dr. Gordon-Boyle told Stabroek News while adding that they are in discussions with the WHO and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on protocols and how it should be done even as she explained that it is a “promising therapy” only for persons who critically need the boost. “Eighty one per cent of the patients will recover on their own, it’s the small percentage that may need help and this is one way in possibly doing it if they’re in agreement to trying it,” she added.