Monoclonal Antibody Infusions, Another Tool to Fight COVID

A new monoclonal antibody infusion treatment against the coronavirus is currently available and underway. The Villages at Southern Hills is among the first skilled nursing facilities in the Tulsa region to implement the FDA approved therapy.

In November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for monoclonal antibody therapy as a treatment for mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in high risk adults with a positive coronavirus test result.

The procedure has shown to be highly effective at keeping COVID from progressing and the resulting hospital admission.

“Timeliness and ongoing COVID testing is key…this is literally a life saving procedure.”
—  Lee Sudbeck, Executive Director

High-risk candidates are identified as:

  • Age 65 or older;
  • Obese with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or higher;
  • Having diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or a condition that weakens the immune system, or take a medication that weakens the immune system; and,
  • Are age 55 or older and have heart disease, high blood pressure or lung disease.

Similar infusion methods have been safely used in the medical community to treat other infectious, inflammatory, and immunological  diseases, including some types of cancer.

The infusion’s medicine contains man-made antibodies that are similar to the antibodies in patients who have recovered from COVID-19.

These antibodies may help limit the reproduction of the COVID-19 virus in the body, which could give the patient’s immune system more time to learn how to make its own antibodies. It does not cause COVID. Instead, it mitigates the severity of COVID symptoms in those who are currently confirmed as COVID positive.

The infusion is given intravenously for approximately one hour. Patient consent is required (and our standard procedure) prior to any vaccine or infusion therapy session.

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Image: Monoclonal Antibody Infusion Nurse

NOTE: Our facility does not administer the COVID vaccine to non-residents and/or patients. Please contact a private doctors’ office, the local health department clinic, an urgent care clinic, or a local pharmacy.