Plasma therapy trials have already started in some states — like Maharashtra, UP and Madhya Pradesh — though on a very small scale involving only one or a couple of patients. The use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets as a preventive measure for front-line healthcare workers, and on patients and their contacts, also has started in some states.

In Maharashtra, just one patient has been on plasma treatment since this week, while the state is starting HCQ tablets for everyone on the frontline of the battle against Covid-19.

Plasma therapy is the transfusion of antibody-rich blood plasma from recovered Covid-19 patients into those who are ill with the infection.

In Indore, three patients were injected with plasma two days ago, and on Wednesday a policeman critically ill in Bhopal received plasma.