- April 24, 2024
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Monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19 is free and increasingly available — with a new site opening last week in Ormond Beach — and people with COVID-19 who are in the high-risk category should use it, according to the health department.
"Anybody who is high risk for complications from COVID, who gets tested positive, should get those as soon as they can — even if they're vaccinated," Florida Department of Health Medical Director Dr. Stephen Bickel said on Flagler Broadcasting's "Free For All Friday" on Aug. 27. "It's been shown to cut hospitalizations down by 75%, which is huge."
For people who've tested positive, he said, the sooner they can begin monoclonal antibody therapy, the better.
"It's that race against time: You get them the first day you get diagnosed, you've got a head start on it," he said.
Bickel said that monoclonal antibodies work by speeding the body's response to the virus. The process used to require IV infusions, he said, but can now be done with a set of shots.
Layered precautions — vaccination, masks, and then, for people who test positive and are high-risk, monoclonal antibody therapy — offers the best protection, Bickel added.
County Commissioner Joe Mullins credited monoclonal antibody therapy with his rapid recovery from COVID-19 last week: The therapy involved one shot in each tricep and two in the stomach, then an hours' wait at the treatment center to ensure he was OK, he said on the radio program.
"Four hours later, I was not feeling the symptoms," he said. "The next day, I did a home test; I tested negative for COVID." He continued testing negative for the next two days. "I am COVID-free," he said.
High-risk people who have been exposed to someone with the virus can also take monoclonal antibody therapy preventatively to decrease the likelihood of catching COVID-19: The treatment has been shown to decrease decrease patients' odds of infection by more than 80%, according to the Florida Department of Health.
In addition to the monoclonal antibody therapy center in Ormond Beach, others are available in Jacksonville, High Springs and Orlando, among other Florida cities.
See a full list of sites, and instructions for setting an appointment, on the Department of Health's website, HERE.
Flagler County recorded 936 positive COVID-19 cases last week, up from a previous weekly high of 731.
"We ... have five lines right now across our parking lot of people waiting [for testing] — that’s probably well over 100 cars waiting right now," Florida Department of Health-Flagler Communications Manager Gretchen Smith said on the radio program. "This is not a good week for Flagler County."
The health department is short-staffed, she said, making contact-tracing difficult. In the last couple of weeks, since schools reopened, about 400 children have tested positive, requiring DOH staff to reach out to about 1,600 of those students' close contacts.
"If your child is a close contact of someone who tested positive, please be patient: Our contact tracers are working ridiculous hours trying to keep up with the demand for testing," Smith said. At the testing site, she said, "Bring something to read or keep entertained, because the lines are long and you’re going to have to wait."
Although the number of positive cases is higher than it was last week, the positivity rate has decreased, from about 25% to about 20%, Smith said.
The vaccination rate has also started rising — the county's overall vaccination rate had plateaued at around 60% for several weeks, and has now risen to 66%, Smith said — but it's still not as high as it should be.
While there are long lines for testing, there are not long lines for the free COVID-19 vaccinations offered through the health department.
Smith said she'd been talking to a local doctor at the hospital the other day, and had asked him what the hardest part of his job was.
"And he said, 'Talking to people, talking to parents, seeing their kid on a vent, seeing their kid on an ECMO, and saying, 'Gosh, I wish I had opted to get them vaccinated.'"
