Bhumi Pednekar presses pause on her 'plasma warrior' initiative after ICMR drops plasma therapy from COVID-19 treatment

Ever since recovering from the deadly coronavirus around mid-April, Bollywood actress Bhumi Pednekar has been dedicating all her efforts towards helping out as much as she can amid the second wave of COVID-19 in India. Not only is she amplifying the voices of those in need of help using her reach on social media platforms, but she has also started many initiatives that benefit the common people during such trying times. Bhumi has also been urging people to donate plasma and help COVID-19 infected patients. Now, she has taken to her Instagram stories to share that she has put a pause on her 'plasma warrior' initiative. She wrote, 'To comply with government directives we are pausing #plasmawarrior.' She added, 'Thank you everyone who came forward and helped someone in need.' The actress' post comes after India dropped convalescent plasma therapy from the list of treatments prescribed for the management of adult coronavirus disease patients, a move that triggered growing evidence against the therapy benefiting COVID-19 patients in any way. For the unversed, just recently, actress and singer Sophie Choudry had tweeted seeking more information on why India is following this treatment when no other country is doing so. She tweeted, 'Genuine question to all the doctors out there. Desperate requests for plasma donors fill our timelines. But experts say that #Plasma therapy isn’t being used by health organisations globally. Please explain why we use it in India, the pros & cons. People need some clarity.' Dr Shriram Nene, actress Madhuri Dixit's husband had then replied saying, 'Great Q. As many have answered, plasma is of limited value and may work when the virus is active during the initial stages. Most patients present much later and have cytokine storms hence steroids are key. The efforts to get plasma are arduous. We should focus on essentials.'