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Washington Health System treating COVID-19 patients with monoclonal antibodies

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Courtesy of Washington Health System

Bernard Collins, left, undergoes antibody infusion treatment at WHS Washington Hospital’s clinic. Diane Clark, a WHS nurse, administered the antibody treatment.

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courtesy Washington Health System

John Carp III, right, receives cutting-edge monoclonal antibody therapy at WHS Washington Hospital from nurse Diane Clark on Christmas Eve, after he was diagnosed days earlier with COVID-19. The treatment helps prevent COVID symptoms from becoming more severe and leading to hospitalization.

Washington Health System has started treating COVID-19 patients with a cutting-edge antibody drug that can help reduce the severity of the virus – and keep people out of the hospital.

Last week, WHS opened an outpatient clinic where it is administering the monoclonal antibody therapies bamlanivimab and Regeneron (a combination therapy of the monoclonal antibody treatments casirivimab and imdevimab) to mild and moderately sick patients.

“We are excited to be able to offer it. I think it’s another item in the tool kit to try to help patients with COVID,” said Dr. Lisa Goss, Chief Medical Information Officer who oversees the antibody infusion clinic at WHS.

Bamlanivimab and Regeneron were granted emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration in November.

The laboratory-made antibody drugs, which are administered intravenously, boost the body’s ability to fight off the coronavirus.

The early data has been promising, said Goss, with studies showing monoclonal antibody treatments can decrease the viral load in the body and reduce the likelihood of patients developing severe COVID symptoms that could lead to hospitalization.

“Everyone is excited to see how these treatments will play out in the future,” said Goss. “Anything we can do to keep these patients healthy and out of the hospital is a good thing.”

The treatment arrives as the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Pennsylvania continue to rise.

“Because of the surge we’re in the middle of from COVID, we’re limited in terms of resources. We want to limit the amount of people who end up sick enough to end up hospitalized,” Goss said. “If we can reduce the number of people who end up in the hospital and on ventilators, that’s important.”

Bamlanivimab and Regeneron – the antibody therapy that President Donald Trump was treated with after he tested positive for COVID-19 in October – have to be administered within 10 days of the onset of symptoms, and it is for patients who have not been hospitalized.

Right now, the emergency use authorization allows the treatment for patients who meet certain conditions. Those include adults over the age of 65; those with a body mass index of 35 or higher; or patients who have COPD or other respiratory disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, or those who are immunosuppressed.

Patients must get a prescription from their health care provider to receive the treatment.

John Carp III, who lives near Brownsville and has COPD, tested positive for the virus on Dec. 22 and opted to receive the treatment to reduce his chances of being hospitalized.

On Christmas Eve, he received the intravenous infusion, which takes an hour, at the clinic located in Washington Hospital.

“It lessens your chances of going into the hospital with a more severe case, and since I have COPD and other underlying conditions, I decided to do it,” said Carp, 64, who is recuperating at home. “It went fine. They ran an IV, and I just sat there and watched TV for an hour, and then I sat for an hour after to make sure there were no side effects. I’d recommend it to anybody.”

Patients who receive the treatment must wait 90 days to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

WHS received a supply of the antibody treatments from the federal government, which purchased hundreds of thousands of doses to distribute to states.

“We have a fair amount of it right now, but it’s not an unlimited supply,” said Goss. “We have been getting resupplied by the government, but we don’t know how long that will be the case. We are hoping it will continue, and that our supply will meet demand.”

The clinic is open Monday through Saturday.

And while the country awaits more availability of COVID vaccines, it’s important to remain vigilant about preventing the spread of the virus. Doctors encourage people to follow CDC recommendations, including wearing face masks, maintaining social distancing, washing hands, and avoiding crowds.

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