Suriname studies alternative COVID-19 treatment

A team of medical experts is currently conducting a study into the treatment of COVID-19 patients with the plasma of recovering COVID-19 patients. The study which is being conducted in the Academic Hospital Paramaribo (AZP) aims at determining if the alternative treatment can be used against COVID-19.

Claudia Redan, general director at the AZP, confirmed that the study is being carried out. “The results of the study are still in the early stages so we still can’t give any definitive answers about the research. More tests are needed and it could take a while before we can say more about this method regarding its effectiveness,” said Redan who hopes that the medical experts will achieve success soon so that an affordable alternative treatment against COVID-19 could be available soon and so that people who are infected with this virus could receive treatment faster. The AZP director explained that it was not the plan for the information to be made public during this phase and she deemed it regrettable that foreign media published the information after HemoClear, the foreign supplier of the products that were prucahsed for the research, went public.

The CEO of HemoClear, Vincent Franssen, told the Dutch media that there is a growing interest in the Surinamese method. “It is not the AZP’s intention to exclude the local media,” said Redan who added that all the information regarding the research will be released soon by the National COVID-19 team or an official press conference of the government or via a special edition of the COVID-19 news program.