FDA Walks Back Claim of Big Benefit From Covid Therapy (Correct)

The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration walked back his claim that an experimental therapy had provided a dramatic benefit to Covid-19 patients, a rare reversal for an agency that has prided itself on rock-solid science and public trust.

On Sunday night at a press conference with President Donald Trump, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said that blood plasma from Covid-19 survivors given to new patients could save huge numbers of lives.

Stephen Hahn, center, speaks during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington D.C. on Aug. 23, 2020.

Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg

“What that means is -- and if the data continue to pan out -- 100 people who are sick with Covid-19, 35 would have been ...