Des Moines Register
Thousands of Iowans potentially escaped being hospitalized with COVID-19, or worse, after being treated by experimental monoclonal antibodies.
The treatment arrived in Iowa in mid-November, shortly after it received emergency approval by federal regulators, and it has shown promising results in keeping Iowans sick with COVID-19 from the direst of outcomes.
The treatment isn’t for everyone who tests positive for the coronavirus. It is generally reserved for people with a higher risk of hospitalization or more dire outcomes from the virus.
And while its first deployment came during a spike of COVID-19 illnesses in Iowa, and preceded the decline in cases, it’s not as simple as cause and effect, MercyOne Dr. Casey Rice said.
Des Moines Register
Thousands of Iowans potentially escaped being hospitalized with COVID-19, or worse, after being treated by experimental monoclonal antibodies.
The treatment arrived in Iowa in mid-November, shortly after it received emergency approval by federal regulators, and it has shown promising results in keeping Iowans sick with COVID-19 from the direst of outcomes.
The treatment isn’t for everyone who tests positive for the coronavirus. It is generally reserved for people with a higher risk of hospitalization or more dire outcomes from the virus.
And while its first deployment came during a spike of COVID-19 illnesses in Iowa, and preceded the decline in cases, it’s not as simple as cause and effect, MercyOne Dr. Casey Rice said.
Des Moines hospital sees less hospitalizations for patients taking monoclonal antibody treatment
Less than five percent of patients given the treatment at MercyOne Des Moines have ended up hospitalized, according to Dr. Casey Rice. Author: Khalil Maycock Updated: 1:02 PM CST January 11, 2021
DES MOINES, Iowa As uncertainty for when the public will receive the coronavirus vaccine continues, the battle to save those who get infected persists.
However, Dr. Casey Rice, an Infectious Disease Specialist at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center, noted they are seeing success among high-risk individuals who received infusion treatments of monoclonal antibodies. So far out of 130 patients that we have given the treatment to, there have been only I believe, five hospitalizations which would be less than five percent, Dr. Rice said.