TAMPA, Fla — Monoclonal antibody treatments are rebounding after the FDA pulled its permission for two previously popular ones.
"So it's really good that this is starting to trickle back into the system again," said distinguished USF Health professor, Dr. Thomas Unnasch.
Right now, health experts say Sotrovimab seems to be working best against the omicron variant.
And though supplies have previously been low, weekly shipments from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are allowing Hillsborough County to provide the drug to folks at home.
It's a situation that Dr. Unnasch says is providing equity and safety to those who need the treatment most.
"Particularly if there's no transportation it's very difficult to get to one of these infusion centers and make the appointment. And if you're immunocompromised the last thing you want to be doing is going into a doctor's office and sitting in a waiting room with a whole bunch of people or an infusion center for that matter," he said.
And it's news that comes as new cases are trending down.
"The last reports that I saw have a daily average of around 17,000, whereas our peak was about 68,000," said Dr. Unnasch.
That said, Dr. Unnasch adds that you should still get vaccinated and boosted if you already haven't.
And he encourages you to keep wearing a mask around others who may not be strong enough to fight off COVID-19.
"Just to be on the safe side, I wear a kn95 mask. Just trying to protect myself from others and more importantly protect others from me in case I'm asymptomatically infected," he said.
The Hillsborough County Department of Health released the following statement on the at-home treatments:
While the FDA has paused Regeneron from being used to treat COVID-19, there are still monoclonal treatments available to receive!
The monoclonal drug Sotrovimab, which effectively treats the Omicron variant, is available in Hillsborough County by a physician referral through our partners DeliveRxd and Prosper Infusion. Sotrovimab, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline LLC, is authorized for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kg) who have tested positive for COVID-19, and who may be at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death.
If you are on Medicare, you'll want to contact Prosper Infusion; for everyone else, contact DeliveRxd.
If you are interested in receiving more information on this monoclonal treatment to treat COVID-19, reach out to one of our partners to discuss eligibility requirements and appointment availability.
For frequently asked questions about Sotrovimab, please reference this document from the FDA https://www.fda.gov/media/149535/download [fda.gov]
Our Partners
Prosper Infusion
Website: https://prosperinfusion.com/ [prosperinfusion.com]
Contact: info@prosperinfusion.com
DeliveRxd
Website: https://www.deliverxdfl.com/ [deliverxdfl.com]
Contact: (813) 932-6266 or Pharmacy@DeliveRxdFL.com
