Other experimental treatments

A host of startups are experimenting with treatments. One therapeutics company, Celularity, recently received approval to begin a clinical trial using stem cells to bolster patients’ own immune systems. The idea of its CYNK-001 therapy is to give patients an infusion of “Natural Killer” white blood cells, to kill the virus and stop it replicating inside the body. The Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center is trying plasma therapy — collecting plasma donations from recovered patients whose blood contains antibodies ready to fight the virus — and administering this to new patients through a transfusion. And Blue Ocean Robotics subsidiary UVD Robots is sending in robots that emit powerful UV-C ultraviolet light to destroy viruses, bacteria, and other germs on hospital surfaces.