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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Outpatient treatments with monoclonal antibody infusions for high risk COVID-19 patients barely being used |
| 2020-12-20 |
| [ABCNews] About 250,000 doses have been distributed free of charge by the US government to health care providers nationwide so far, with about 900,000 more doses to come by 31 Jan 2021. These are for outpatients only, and for recently diagnosed high risk patients, which includes everyone 65 years old or older. News media coverage and government press releases giving locations of infusion centers, how many doses have been given, are very sketchy. The Texas Medical Association has gone the farthest, publishing an online GIS map tool showing all known infusion centers in Texas. In Ohio, there has been coverage of infusion centers in the Columbus and Dayton areas. I heard a rumor that the Cleveland Clinic started infusions 1 December but there is nothing publicly posted about that. Comments to this news article are interesting. One Massachusetts commented said her 90+ year old grandparents both recently turned positive for COVID19. Their PCP did not refer these elders for antibody infusions and refused to discuss them with the family. This commenter somehow got contacted the head of the infectious disease department of a Boston hospital. That physician ordered the infusions for both. Both received the infusions and were almost back to normal within 2 or 3 days. Very few adverse effects have been publicized. |
| Posted by:Bubba Lover of the Faeries8843 |
| #6 NBC News 12/20/2020: A 'godsend' or not 'worth the effort'? Monoclonal antibodies divide overwhelmed Covid doctors. Some doctors are clamoring for the treatment, which, officials say, in some places is sitting unused. 12/2/2020 updated: the Infectious Disease Society of America issued this oracle: The guideline panel suggests against routine use of bamlanivimab for ambulatory patients with COVID-19. The panel recognizes that persons, including those at increased risk of progressing to severe COVID-19 (as defined by the FDA EUA [131]) who place a higher value on the uncertain benefits and a low value on the uncertain adverse events, may reasonably select this treatment after careful discussion with their clinician. Erm -- COVID-19 has been known for only a year. Are there ANY "routine" measures available for COVID-19 patients? I think not. But this "experts" seem to think otherwise. They are an example of "analysis paralysis" and physicians like them are more of a problem than a solution. The corresponding author of the panel is Dr. Adarsh Bhimraj. He is the head for section of Neurologic  Infectious Diseases at the Cleveland Clinic. He may be part of the reason the Cleveland Clinic has not gone public with any availability of outpatient monoclonal infusions for high risk newly diagnosed COVID-19 patients. Contrast him with the Boston infectious disease specialist mentioned in the comments of the ABC news article. When he was contacted, he prescribed this treatment for both of the commenter's 90+ year old grandparents. They received and did very well, thank you. The USA has distributed 12,000+ doses of this treatment to various health care institutions in the state of Ohio so far. I don't know how many have actually been given to Ohio patients. |
| Posted by: Bubba Lover of the Faeries8843 2020-12-20 22:53 |
| #5 -----The drugs referred to in the source article were bought & paid for by the US government and distributed free of charge to various health care facilities. ---- The costs of the infusions will be extra. Medicare (19.5% of the 2019 population of the USA) patients will be covered for infusions costs in whole or in part.) States have indicated that Medicaid will cover infusion costs in a similar way. ------Compare these costs to the cost of a single ER visit, or to the cost of a hospitalization of 1 week duration for COVID-19. None of these services is offered freely, so why single out this unique method of possibly preventing hospitalization or death from COVID-19 to the most vulnerable population? ------ People without health coverage who get extremely ill from whatever illness are SOL in any case. |
| Posted by: Bubba Lover of the Faeries8843 2020-12-20 22:22 |
| #4 #3 The prices (and a new one one like the covid mAb should cost x10) explain why the treatment is not offered freely. Are you one of these geniuses who thinks that prices don't matter? Or only matter where YOUR ideological bulls are not gored? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2020-12-20 06:16 |
| #3 FYI the prices you linked are all for someone with ZERO insurance - in otherwords, not the typical instance. Even Medicaid gets them for considerably cheaper. Most of those multi-thousand dollar doses end up being $60-180 with insurance or pharma assistance. Why do you attempt to mislead people? Are you one of those freaks that want to continue the fear? |
| Posted by: Unaitle Phert5103 2020-12-20 05:56 |
| #2 MCA can be very powerful anti-inflammatory. And it is not the virus that kills people, it is the immune overreaction to the viral cell damage that cascades inflammation and destroys breathing capacity by filling the lungs with fluid. Certain anti-inflammatory drugs interrupt the inflammation chain, and prevent the excessive "cytokine storm", saving people from death. Some of these are in the MCA class, notably adalimumab (Hunira). Other RA anti-inflammatory drugs are etanercept (Enbrel), hydrochloroquine (Plaquenil, also used for lupus - more recent and targeted research shows that it may be effective in early stages at preventing progress) and dexamethasone, all in combination with other medications, all of which have shown at least in-vitro action against SARS-CoV-2 in human tissue. |
| Posted by: Unaitle Phert5103 2020-12-20 05:54 |
| #1 Prices for Popular Monoclonal Antibodies |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2020-12-20 02:21 |