Antibody Treatment Expands In Utah To Help Reduce COVID Hospitalizations

SANDY, Utah — A treatment known as monoclonal antibody therapy is becoming more well-known for reducing COVID-19 related hospitalization in patients at high risk.

Intermountain Healthcare infectious diseases physician Brandon Webb said for every six – nine patients treated, one hospitalization is prevented. The FDA issued an emergency use authorization for the medications casirivimab and imdevimab to be administered together back in November. Since then Utah’s clinics and hospitals have provided the treatment to hundreds of patients.

“With the over 800 patients we treated, we’ve actually probably prevented the equivalent of an entire COVID hospital worth of patients,” Webb said.

Webb said the IV treatment is most effective if received within 7 days of symptoms.

“These treatments are geared toward patients who are at the highest risk of developing severe COVID cases and needing to be hospitalized,” Webb said. “This is a specially designed treatment that mimics what our immune system should be doing if we have immunity to COVID.” 

Sheri and Phil Cox tested positive for COVID earlier this month, and within days of their diagnosis they received the therapy.

“We answered a couple questions on the state’s website and were given a call the next day,” Sheri Cox said. “They just told us we were going to get an IV and it was four hours.”

Sheri Cox has diabetes and high blood pressure, and her husband has cancer. Both are over the age of 65 and both were found eligible for the treatment. They believe without it, their cases would have been much more sever. They said their symptoms were not as bad as the other, younger family members who were diagnosed with the virus.

“We would’ve been a lot worse off,” Cox said. “We are in the age group that we panicked when we found out we had COVID.”

To see if you qualify, click here to be taken to the Utah coronavirus website’s monoclonal antibody therapy page.