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Doctors try pressurized oxygen chambers in COVID fight

In this April 2020 photo provided by The Wound Treatment Center, two COVID-19 patients are treated in hyperbaric chambers at a hospital in Opelousas, La. The therapy involves delivering 100% oxygen straight to patients inside a pressurized chamber. (Marcus Speyrer/The Wound Treatment Center via AP)

As researchers around the world search for ways to treat the growing number of people suffering from the coronavirus, medical researchers in New York are trying hyperbaric oxygen therapy, best known for treating divers with decompression sickness.

But the researchers say the use of the hyperbaric treatment is met with skepticism by the wider medical community because fringe supporters have long touted it as a virtual cure-all without scientific evidence.

The therapy is only approved for 13 types of treatment — from burns to deep wounds and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Researchers as hoping to secure funding for a larger clinical trial.