this is "nightline." >> tonight, pandemic game changer? plasma from one patient who recovered from the virus. his anti-bodies may have brought back another man from critical condition. >> i can't even put all the words together to say thank you. y it.>> the potentially life-s transfusion treatment. plus, land of the free from covid-19. abc's matt gutman traveling the country, finding communities with no known cases of coronavirus. >> this is a county with zero cases. >> now bracing forea possible change in the wind. and the tribute by the "wicked" cast. ♪ i have been changed >> and those who have changed us

for the better. "nightline" will be right back. ♪

♪ ♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, a staggering milestone.

the covid-19 death toll in the u.s. reaching more than 58,300. surpassing the number of americans killed during the vietnam war. a conflict that lasted nearly two decades. but now the possible treatment and glimmer of hope. the fda encouraging pandemic survivors to donate massplasma help others. >> reporter: for the past weeks, david herman has undergone a new routine. regular trips to this blood bank in san antonio, texas. >> i'm going to get your temperature, and then you have persistent cough? >> reporter: last month he tested positive for covid-19 but showed almost no symptoms. >> i was not hospitalized. i'm lucky that i didn't get sick, and at the same time, i'm sad so many people are. >> reporter: so he decided to do something about it. >> i was watching the news. they were talking about this plasma work being done, and i came in on i believe april7th and gave my first donation.

>> reporter: david has visited this blood bank four times to donate his plasma. plasma is the yellow part of our blood that contains anti-bodies that help fight off viruses, although doctors don't yet know if it works against covid-19 they're hoping that convalescent plasma donated from those who have recovered could be an effective treatment for people still battling it, people like jimmy hayden. >> i came home from work, sat on the couch and felt chills and took my temperature. my temperature was up. like 101.7. by thursday, the second, which is the day i actually went to the emergency room i, you know, i could hardly breathe. where a >> reporter: later that day he was placed on a ventilator many as he grew sicker, doctors looked to convalescent plasma. it's an old treatment. now the mayo clinic is working with more than 2,000 sites to collect plasma.

blood banks across the country are leading their own efforts, too. that's where david stepped in. although it can't be said for certain because the treatment is still unproven, his plasma may have aided in jimmy's quick turn around. >> i felt like it was the right thing to do to help my community. >> reporter: six days after jimmy was given convalescent plasma he came off the ventilator. >> every day i'm just getting better. >> reporter: as i saw first hand last week. good evening. the donation process takes under two hours. having tested positive for covid-19 last month i'm at the criteria to donate. >> this is your plasma right here. >> reporter: i just can't believe i have the ability to do something that could be so helpful. according to the red cross, more than 30,000 people have registered to donate through

their site, but only 2% to 3% actually meet the criteria. >> i think that it's considered a bridge therapy. it's not a cure. it is simply to help patients until a more permanent cure such as a vaccine can be developed. >> reporter: still doctors say the treatment is experimental and they need more data. >> there's been so much talk and discussion of the convalescent plasma in this covid-19 epidemic, but we don't know if it's effective. >> reporter: but connie griffin believes it saved her life. do you think you'd be where you are today if it wasn't for that plasma treatment? >> no. i don't know that i'd have made it. >> reporter: her grueling battle with covid-19 started last month. >> i remember asking heather to take me to the er because i felt really dehydrated and not feeling well. >> reporter: heather says her mother was admitted and then covid-19 struck again. >> two days later my dad was

admitted to the hospital. >> reporter: soon both parents' condition started rapidly deteriorating. >> i was a pretty emotional wreck by the end of that night. it was heartbreaking. i cried for like two days. >> reporter: doctors approached her about that experimental new treatment, but there was a catch. >> my first question was, like, how am i, how am i supposed to pick between my mom and my dad? because he said there was basically, like, one dose available. and he thought that my mom was a better candidate for it. >> reporter: heather's father marvin was responding well to a different treatment, so heather agreed with the doctor's advice. connie would receive the plasma. what was your reaction when you heard about the decision your children had to make? >> i was very overwhelmed. happy that she had the strength to do it. >> reporter: six days after receiving the plasma transfusion, connie was taken

off the ventilator. i know you don't know who your donor is, but if you could give that person a message, what would you say to them? >> i am so thankful that you gave the donation of life. because that's what it was for me. and if they hadn't donated, then i wouldn't have had the possibility. i just thank them very much. >> reporter: she and her husband are now back at home. jimmy hayden wants to thank his donor, too. >> i actually sent him a friend request on facebook last night. he accepted. so hopefully in the very near future he and i can actually have a conversation. >> hey, jimmy. >> reporter: yesterday he got that chance. >> i'm so happy to you and your family. >> oh, my god, you're absolute blessing. i tell you. it's overwhelming for sure, to say the least. and, you know, there just aren't

enough thank yous in the world to tell you what your donation has done for me and my family. you know, when i look at my wife and i look at my kids, you know, you come to mind. and i'm just so extremely blessed and humbled and, you know, my life's forever changed. >> all i want to say is that i was happy to do it. and i'm glad you're well. >> reporter: two strangers, forged forever by a 50-minute sacrifice. >> you're our hero. >> yeah, amen. >> a lot of heroes out there. >> there are, but you're a special hero to us. so that's the main thing. >> thank you. >> i hope that someday when all this is over that we can actually meet in person and shake your hand, give you >> i would like that. >> pray that i can do the same thing to someone else that you did tfor me and my family. >> well, thank you for doing that. >> our thanks to kaley.

plasma therapy is not new, something my own colleague knows well. i spoke to richard besser, the former acting director for the cdc and medical editor and now president and ceo of the robert wood johnson foundation. good to see you. >> good to see you, byron. >> back in 2014, you interviewed a doctor who recovered from ebola and went on to help others by donating his plasma. how effective has plasma therapy been in the past and how hopeful are you that it will work now? >> well, you know, there are a number of viral infections where plasma therapy has been very useful, hepatitis, chickenpox and ebola. it's too soon to know for sure, but it's something worth testing. it's undergoing trials. >> most experts say we really need to ramp up testing exponentially to reopen. we've only conducted 5.6 million tests in the u.s. but they want around 6 million

americans to be tested each month. a, is that possible, and b, is it enough? >> i think it's possible if we say it's a priority. that means getting manufacturing up to get the degree of testing we need. you really want to be able to test anyone who has symptoms that could be covid so you can identify them, identify people they've been in contact with and get those people away in others as well. >> as we wait for a vaccine, there seems to be encouraging news. pfizer announced they're ramping up production on a drug they're going to release later this year. is there any one in particular you're most optimistic about? >> i'm a little concerned, byron, that we're celebrating prematurely. none of these vaccines have been used in people, have been shown to be safe and effective against coronavirus. so i worry that some of these releases are more about stock price than they really are about

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one by one, some of thelarg falling into the grips of the pandemic. covid-19 making its way across america. but in some areas where social distancing already means living miles apart from your neighbors, the virus has yet to reach their borders. here's abc's matt gutman.

>> reporter: whipped by the wind, the welcome booth at this bad lands campground in south dakota may seem like the loneliest place on the planet. >> okay you need it for two nights. >> reporter: except the caretaker has company coming. >> it's not available on saturday night, no. be being o being out here i don't see it as much as i would in massachusetts or in a big city. >> reporter: until several weeks ago she was an accountant in massachusetts, believes she has found out the perfect place to ride out covid. >> jackson county's never had a case. we try to maintain that. because once we get a case it could mean the closure of all of us. we are the concession of the national parks. >> reporter: over the past week, my producer and i spent time

driving from minneapolis to los angeles, visiting parts of the country that have few our no covid cases. places like these are in stark contrast to other parts of the country. here almost nobody wears a mask. people still shake hands and go to indoor water parks like this one in rapid city, south dakota. people still seem to have places to go. we encountered a surprising amount of traffic in denver, where there are over 22,0,000 cases. we found so-called covid refugees flocking to places like geo's campground. this man pulled up from baltimore. you stopped seeing the mask? >> you are the first i've seen with one. >> reporter: even in the vast open space, geohas behas beeha n diligently spacing out campers. >> they're just coming here, and we're trying to keep everybody safe. >> reporter: there were spacious rvs and college kids pitching

tents. is there a shelter at home order? >> in duluth, yeah, an a little bit. >> reporter: we then headed west to mt. rushmore. where we found the carl family from iowa, who had the presidents mostly to themselves. >> it's open. i don't feel bad about using it. people didn't want to be around other people don't go to public places. >> reporter: they are not overly concerned about the virus. you still shake hands? >> i dropped a car off the other day, the guy stuck his hand out. i was almost happy seeing somebody do it. >> reporter: the black hills giving way to wide open plains. >> wyoming. >> reporter: south dakota and wyoming are just two states without statewide shelter at home orders. we stopped in tiny hartville, wyoming, the oldest incorporated town in the state. >> i love your hat! it's marvelous. >> reporter: a place where

everyone knows each other. tasha runs the post office here. >> it needs to stop. >> reporter: what -- >> we need to go back to, if you're sick, stay home, other than that, open everything back up. these small businesses are struggling. i, i think it's time. >> we have no cases in platt county. >> reporter: across the street at the miners and stockman's steakhouse, scott and kristine harman felt the same. >> we're going to die of covid? or the business dies. >> reporter: the county seat is wheatland, wyoming. population of 9,000. zero positive casis. that's one reason the ems director says he has to treat everyone like they have the plague. his name is terry stevenson. >> you guys are from out of state so we're going to treat you like you have the plague. >> reporter: out here they rely on their common sense.

>> the governor did not give a stay-at-home order. you know when it's raining, nobody should have to tell you to put on a rain coat. so we've got a disease going around. nobody should tell you you have to stay home. >> reporter: there are zero cases in platt county right now. but eventually, he believes covid will come here too. dan brekt owns the wandering hermit bookshop. business hasn't been hit that hard. >> we've done pretty well. people who don't have anything to do read books or they want to get a jigsaw puzzle or a board game. >> reporter: but he worries about the rest of the town. ned resh is the ceo of the hospital, one of the friendly folks who innocently reached out to shake my hand. he says they've been locked and loaded for weeks but no covid patients yet. >> a lot of elective surgeries and things we would typically do we're not doing to make sure we stay safe.

>> reporter: rural hospitals across the country bracing for the same. the earlier they are in the covid curve the longer they have revenue treatments and the more like l likely they are to face economic collapse. but from bad lands, everyone agrees no one will see normal anytime soon. you would think you would be able to shake a hand of someone you don't know very well a hug. >> not for a couple years i don't think. i really don't. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm matt gutman. and next, the wicked display of thanks to our front line heroes, changing america for good. m toyota. many of you still need to be on the road right now. toyota is here to help. we're offering an incredible 0% on our most popular toyotas. that's 0% on camry... 0% on rav4...

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and finally tonight, the heartfelt tribute. ♪ because i knew cast members of the broadway

musical "wicked." ♪ i have been changed coming together in celebration of front line heroes fighting covid-19. theirselfless a their selfless and tireless work changing the country for the better and for good. it was american singer gerard wahoo had said heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary. thanks for the company america, see you right back here tomorrow, same time. goodnight. ♪ ba, da, ba, ba, da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, ♪ "jimmy kimmel live," this is ridiculous. from his house. >> jimmy: hello again. it's jimmy, again. from my house again. this is day 43. i think. i'm not sure. guillermo, what day is this?

how long have we been in quarantine now? >> guillermo: i think 41 days. >> jimmy: all i know, this is officially the longest i've stayed inside since the womb. you know, i keep thinking about what a bummer it is to be a high school senior right now. you're about to graduate. you doesn't gn't get to do any fun things. there's a new thing they're doing called "isolation proms" where all the kids get dressed up and dance over video chat. which is ok i guess. i guess it's better than nothing. when i was in high school, i had an "isolation prom" too. everyone else went to the prom. i stayed home and played my clarinet. and while we may be isolated, it would seem we are not alone. as if we didn't have enough to worry about right in the middle of this, at the moment we are totally focused on the virus and quarantine and whether or not we should be mainlining lysol, the pentagon releases official video of ufos.