Hogan Announces Funding for Research into Coronavirus Treatment

The state of Maryland, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Johns Hopkins University are working together to fund research for a possible COVID-19 treatment, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Friday. 

According to a statement from Hogan, researchers plan to collect and process blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors and run clinical trials to evaluate effectiveness for critically ill coronavirus patients and people with high-risk exposure, like healthcare workers. There is currently no vaccine or treatment for COVID-19. 

“We are very fortunate that Maryland has some of the top health research facilities in the world, and I am confident in our state’s ability to be a leader in developing treatments and perhaps even a vaccine for COVID-19,” Hogan said in the statement.

The funding is $4 million total, with $3 million coming from Bloomberg Philanthropies and $1 million from the state. 

I am pleased to announce that the State of Maryland and @BloombergDotOrg are jointly funding research led by @JohnsHopkins into the potential therapeutic uses of #COVID19 convalescent plasma.

Details: https://t.co/Z879xXCUOP

— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) March 27, 2020

About Maryam Shahzad

Maryam is a reporter with Montgomery Community Media. She graduated from the University of Maryland in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism. Previously, she was an intern with MCM. She can be reached at mshahzad@mymcmedia.org or on Twitter @maryam_mcm.

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