Hadassah rolls out outpatient antibody cocktail infusion to reduce COVID
The treatment lasts around three hours, including observation.
By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMANTHE HADASSAH-UNIVERSITY Medical Center campus is seen in Ein Kerem.(photo credit: MOSHE SHAI/FLASH90)
In an effort to reduce the number of people who become hospital patients, Hadassah-University Medical Center is now offering Jerusalemites newly infected with coronavirus an infusion of monoclonal antibodies.The treatment – laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off harmful antigens, including viruses – became well known last year when former US president Donald Trump received it immediately upon being diagnosed with COVID-19.Trump received Regeneron’s antibody cocktail, which was FDA-approved in November. He touted the treatment as a “cure.”“I walked in. I didn’t feel good. A short 24 hours later, I was feeling great,” Trump said in a video he posted on October 7. “I want everybody to be given the same treatment as your president because I feel great.”Hadassah is administering a similar cocktail, Bamlanivimab, developed by the US company Eli Lilly, which was also approved by the FDA last November.Bamlanivimab is specifically directed against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and designed to block the virus’s attachment and entry into a person’s cells.Hadassah’s program is geared toward newly diagnosed patients who are at high risk of developing a serious case of COVID, such as those who are on immunosuppressive drugs, receiving chemotherapy or dialysis, or have had an organ transplant or lung disease. It is also available to any coronavirus-positive person over the age of 65.“It is extremely important to let people know that they can change the natural course of this disease,” Hadassah Director-General Zeev Rotstein told The Jerusalem Post. “Even before their symptoms have started, they should come. We don’t want to lose a single day.”Patients must arrive at Hadassah by ambulance to ensure they do not infect anyone else on their way. The treatment lasts around three hours, including observation. Then they return to their homes.So far, about a dozen patients have taken advantage of the program, which began last week and is being run in collaboration with the health funds and the Health Ministry, Rotstein said.As noted, the antibodies are administered by infusion.Hadassah is the first Israeli hospital offering such an outpatient program.Despite the high level of vaccination in Israel, there are still many new cases per day, Rotstein said, adding: “We can save lives with this.”
