We get a lot of emails about COVID
and the different treatments out
there like this one for man.
So she emailed asking since you've
been reporting the hospitals in Oregon
becoming full of COVID patients,
what is the status on using
monoclonal antibodies?
It's a great question and one that we've
heard before, so the status is yes,
some hospitals are using this treatment now.
This is not preventative.
Doctors say you should still get vaccinated,
but this is a hopeful treatment.
If you do get COVID
first, you may be wondering what
monoclonal antibodies are for the
answer we turn to Doctor Morgan
hockey interim head of the division
of Infectious Diseases at OHSU,
and the Vice Chair for clinical
programs for the Department of Medicine.
So your body's immune system makes
antibodies in response to an infection and
those antibodies help clear the infection.
These are antibodies that are made in a
lab and and are given to people to help
their immune system fight the infection.
Doctor Hawkey said the antibodies work
by attaching to the virus and preventing
the virus from infecting cells.
The treatment has been given emergency
use authorization by the FDA.
It's not preventative or a
substitution for the vaccine.
Doctor Haughey said getting antibodies
only works if you get COVID or if your
immuno compromised and exposed to COVID.
The whole point of the treatment is
to keep you out of the hospital.
It
does appear that this treatment
does what it's supposed to do,
which is keep people from getting
so sick that they need to go to the
emergency room or the hospital.
OHSU has treated more than 120 COVID
patients with monoclonal antibodies.
The majority of the treatments were
given during the last six weeks during
the surge of cases from Delta under the
FDA emergency use authorization rules.
The treatment is reserved
for high risk patients.
The treatment is given through
an Ivy administered by a nurse.
However since June.
The treatment can be given subcutaneously
or as an injection under the skin.
That means more hospital systems
in clinics may be able to offer
the treatment because you don't
need a nurse to administer it.
Doctor Shimi Sharief is a senior health
adviser with the Oregon Health Authority,
So what we're
hoping is that this type of formulation
specifically will actually make it more
possible for more types of settings to
start ordering and administering product
just because it doesn't require nurses
who are in shorter and shorter supply,
especially as the surge. Moves on
the OHA said at least 30 hospitals in Oregon
are giving the antibodies to patients,
but again they want more hospitals to use it.
Salem Health was the first hospital
in Oregon to offer the treatment.
In December of 2020 to
high risk patients over 12,
they've done more than 400 infusions
and found 70% of those patients
did not need to go to the hospital.
Similar to data in clinical trials,
legacy health just started a pilot program.
Where COVID patients drive up
and get the monoclonal antibody
treatment as an injection.
So
we're doing it outside and with
patients in their cars so they can
be observed safely and not pose any
risk to staff or each other or other
people around them because they
have known kovid Kaiser Permanente
is offering the monoclonal
antibody treatments a high risk.
Patients like those going
through chemotherapy,
Providence, and Peacehealth,
Southwest both plan to offer the treatment
to patients as soon as this week.
Other facilities are getting
the treatments too, so
it is actually very available to order
and it actually the federal government
is currently sitting on a surplus,
so there's no limitations on the number
of doses that you can order as well as
the number of times that you can order
as well ongoing. Again,
this treatment cannot prevent
COVID like the vaccine,
but it may prevent a trip
to the hospital. Let's
get it out there to as many people as
we can and just try and help the crush
of people that we're seeing in the
hospital right now.
It's not just hospitals.
Doing the treatment,
we found this map from EU. S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
It shows nearly 50 hospitals,
clinics and pharmacies in Oregon
have received shipments of the
monoclonal antibody treatments,
but again, each facility has different
rules or criteria for getting it.
So you do have to call those
places and you can find the
map on our website right now.
If you have a question about
this treatment about the vaccine,
about anything, just let us know.
All you have to do is email US
KGW vaccine team at kgw.com.