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UPMC Expands Access to Monoclonal COVID-19 Antibody Treatments
Patients will now be able to receive the COVID-19 antibody treatments if they have been exposed to someone with the virus and are unvaccinated or if they are at risk of serious illness.
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) recently announced expanded access to its potential COVID-19 antibody treatments in outpatient and inpatient settings for eligible patients.
With the expansion, patients will now be able to receive the treatments if they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 and are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated, or if they are at risk of serious illness.
Additionally, patients who are fully vaccinated but whose immune systems may not respond well to the vaccine may also qualify to receive monoclonal antibodies if exposed.
“UPMC will soon offer this antibody as what is called ‘post-exposure prophylaxis’ in outpatient and inpatient settings for eligible patients,” Erin McCreary, MD, infectious diseases pharmacist and clinical assistant professor in UPMC’s division of infectious diseases, said in the announcement.
“We were ready to go and soon we’ll be ready to administer all across the enterprise. I just want to plug that post-exposure is wonderful and I’m glad we have that as an option, but pre-exposure is even better by getting vaccinated,” McCreary continued.
Researchers based their decision on earlier data, which showed that hospitalizations and deaths decreased by 60 percent in UPMC COVID-19 patients who received the antibodies.
Currently, the B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), B.1.617.2 (Delta), and P.1 (Gamma) variants are circulating in the US and deemed variants of concern.
In December, The New York Times reported that the Alpha variant is 56 percent more contagious than the strain found in the states. And the variant may be up to 70 percent more transmissible.
But recently, preventing infection has become even more critical with the highly transmissible Delta variant circulating.
F.Perry Wilson, MD, Yale Medicine epidemiologist, recently explained that Delta is more contagious than all the other virus strains and is quickly spreading throughout the country. Researchers identified the first Delta case in December 2020. The strain then took over India and Great Britain.
By the end of July, Delta caused over 80 percent of new US COVID-19 cases. Wilson explained that variant will “certainly accelerate the pandemic.”
UPMC researchers highlighted that both of its monoclonal treatments are active against the Delta variant.
“Staying safe from the delta variant requires the same response we’ve established over the last nearly 18 months,” Graham Snyder, medical director and associate profession of the UPMC division of infectious diseases, said in a press release.
“Vaccination is safe and highly effective at preventing serious complications. Early diagnosis and contact tracing can slow the progression of the virus. Treatments, including monoclonal antibodies, save lives,” Snyder concluded.
