In this post, I link to and excerpt from Monoclonal antibodies are free and effective against covid-19, but few people are getting them, from The Washington Post, August 20, 2021.
All that follows is excerpted from the above article, but you should review the entire article as it has information critical to everyone.
The Burtons, both vaccinated, moved to separate parts of their Mount Sterling, Ky., home, masked up and hoped for the best.
Then a friend called and insisted they ask their doctors about monoclonal antibodies — an effective, widely available covid-19 therapy that few people are receiving.
“That was all news [to me], when my friend Rita called,” said Linda Burton, a retired nurse. “I want everybody to know about this. I’m telling people that I know that are older. I’m saying, ‘If you get exposed, you need to talk to your doctor about it.’ ”
Monoclonal antibodies are free to patients and there have been almost no side effects. They are accessible on an outpatient basis, via a single infusion or four injections. Hospitals, urgent-care centers and even private doctors are authorized to dispense them.
But Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, maker of the only authorized, free monoclonal antibodies, said it is reaching fewer than 30 percent of eligible patients, up from fewer than 5 percent a month ago.
Regeneron’s drug is a cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies, casirivimab and imdevimab. Research that has not yet been peer reviewed shows it reduced the chances of hospitalization and death by 70 percent and shortened the duration of symptoms by four days.
