Announcement comes after FDA commissioner cautioned chloroquine needs to be studied in a clinical trial when President Donald Trump touted it as a potential COVID-19 treatment.
"We need to get a handle on the spread otherwise we're going to be in the same situation as Italy, and that's not so far off," Dr. Nicole Saphier cautioned.
"I don't know where the federal government was. We should have been doing this, you know, eight weeks ago," Ned Lamont said.
"We look like we got caught by surprise and we're always playing catch-up," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said.
The concept of "convalescent plasma" originated in the early 20th century and has been used to treat outbreaks of measles and mumps.
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There is currently no vaccine or treatment available for the virus which has killed over 6,500 people according to Johns Hopkins University.
The Louisiana governor first tweeted the LSU coach's PSA, which drew praise across Twitter. Then sadly, two hours later, the governor tweeted of his state's first death from coronavirus.
"We will overcome the threat of the virus," Trump said in a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House.
Social distancing is one of the most important ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization.
"I'm also washing my hands very regularly throughout the day," Pence said.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak started last year, scientists have been working to create a vaccine to prevent the spread of the bug.
Commonly reported symptoms for patients with COVID-19 include mild to severe respiratory illness, fever, coughing and difficulty breathing.
The virus which has killed over a 1,000 people is thought to have jumped from animals to humans.
The little-understood virus has killed over 1,000 people since it emerged late last year.
