Links To And Excerpts From Health And Human Services’ PROVIDER’S GUIDE TO COVID-19 TREATMENT OPTIONS

If you think that you or someone you know might have COVID-19, please click on this link for a poster on what you or he or she should do right now.

In this post I link to and excerpt from Health and Human ServicesCombat Covid website, Providers Guide to COVID-19 Treatment Options.

Here are excerpts:

Monoclonal antibody therapies: what healthcare providers need to know, Jan 12,2021, 2:33.

WHAT TREATMENTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PATIENTS WHO DO NOT REQUIRE HOSPITALIZATION?

Your eligible patients who have had mild to moderate symptoms for 10 days or less may benefit from treatment with monoclonal antibody drugs that received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2020.

Monoclonal antibodies, including bamlanivimab, the combination of etesevimab and bamlanivimab, and the combination of casirivimab and imdevimab, are treatments authorized for patients 12 years of age and older, and who are at high-risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization. The high-risk population includes patients who are 65 years of age or older, and others with certain chronic medical conditions.

To access these treatments, patients will need a referral from a healthcare provider.

Locate sites in your community that have received deliveries of monoclonal antibodies for outpatient treatment: LEARN MORE

ADDRESSING MISCONCEPTIONS AND BARRIERS

Since the start of the pandemic, there are now many treatment options that the FDA has either approved or received an EUA. Those products with an EUA have been studied for safety and have shown effectiveness in early studies. Monoclonal antibodies have been shown to help decrease the risk of hospitalization in high-risk patients.

Among the high-risk patients, providing facts about COVID-19 may be an effective approach. For instance, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveillance data finds patients 65 and older represent only 14.5% of the total COVID-19 patients in the United States, however, they represent 80% of the total deaths from COVID-19. It is also recommended that providers should consult the FDA Fact Sheets for the different COVID-19 therapies and the CDC recommendations for COVID-19 management.

Regarding common barriers, the competing priorities of vaccine administration, COVID-19 patient hospitalizations, and daily operations while managing a method to deliver monoclonal antibodies is one of the most challenging obstacles. Due to these challenges, providers need to familiarize themselves with the available infusion locations in their area and learn the required referral procedures. This step can save staff and patients a significant amount of time, and most importantly, prevent them from exceeding the 10-day treatment window. You can use the link below to identify potential infusion locations in your local area.

FIND INFUSION LOCATIONS

FDA Healthcare Provider Fact Sheets

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