Vaccine appointments rescheduled due to severe weather citizensvoice.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from citizensvoice.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Another local medical provider is offering an intravenous antibody therapy that may help COVID-19 patients avoid hospital stays and recover more quickly with fewer complications.
The Wright Center for Community Health is now operating a Scranton outpatient infusion clinic administering the monoclonal antibody bamlanivimab, which received emergency use authorization as a COVID-19 treatment in November.
âMonoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune systemâs ability to fight off harmful pathogens like viruses,â according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Developed by the pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly and Co., bamlanivimab is a monoclonal antibody specifically directed against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Itâs âdesigned to block the virusâ attachment and entry into human cells,â according to the FDA.
A review of state data shows that distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in Luzerne County has decreased over the past two weeks, as supplies remain limited and thousands of residents who qualify to receive the vaccine are unable to register for appointments.
According to data released by the state Department of Health, doses of the vaccine distributed to providers in Luzerne County increased from 1,950 doses when distribution began the week of Dec. 14 to a high of 9,925 the week of Jan. 4. But the delivery numbers dipped to 6,100 the week of Jan. 25 and plummeted further to only 4,400 last week.
When vaccine distribution began in Luzerne County, only two providers â Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Twp. and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital â received vaccines. As of last week, there were 33 providers who received at least some doses.
Region records another 654 cases; six deaths from COVID-19 thetimes-tribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thetimes-tribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
COVID-19 vaccines arrived for front-line health care workers at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton.
Some GCMC medical workers received their first of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Thursday, the same day a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel overwhelmingly recommended a second vaccine for emergency use in the United States. Final authorization of that vaccine, made by Moderna, is expected as early as today.
As distribution of the Pfizer vaccine continues over the coming weeks, state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Thursday that officials are âhopefulâ doses of Modernaâs vaccine will be distributed beginning next week.