Signs outside the COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Indiana Avenue in Bloomington, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. Staff photo by Rich Janzaruk
As the number of coronavirus cases increases, again, there's high demand for emergency-use monoclonal antibodies that successfully combat COVID-19.
Casirivimab, imdevimab bamlanivimab, etesevimab and sotrovimab are saving lives.
But because the treatment is in such demand, it's becoming harder to get. The state now allocates how much of the antibody treatment each hospital receives. And studies show it may not work well against the fast-spreading omicron variant.
"It is less available," Monroe Hospital spokesman Tom Whitehead confirmed this week, explaining that doctors screen those seeking antibodies. "The infusion is given to those who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death."
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He said state health department numbers show that in Indiana, about half of current COVID-19 cases are the delta variant and half are the newer omicron strain. Each kind requires a specific monoclonal antibody, because studies indicate some types of antibody treatments are not very effective against omicron.
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