Things are going to get better, but they are going to get worse before then. Hospitals are full and aren’t accepting transfers from within the city or outlying areas. A friend told me that a rural hospital outside of Bexar County has 8 patients that they can’t transfer to a San Antonio Hospital. We are hearing about more “breakthrough” cases, but 99% of those hospitalized are unvaccinated.
Here is an easy way to locate a vaccine close to you.https://www.vaccines.gov/search/
And remember, Pfizer and Moderna are two doses. Make sure you get both.
There is some good news. One of the monoclonal antibody combinations that we have been using for Covid 19 in outpatients with mild to moderate disease is now approved to prevent the disease in someone who has been exposed and is at high risk.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the use of REGEN-COV (casirivimab and imdevimab) for postexposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 in individuals (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40kg) who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death. The investigational agent was previously granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19.
REGEN-COV consists of 2 potent, virus-neutralizing antibodies that bind noncompetitively to the receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, thereby blocking its interaction with the host cell. The evidence supporting the EUA for postexposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 was based on data from the phase 3 COV-2069 trial (ClinicalTrials Identifier: NCT04452318), which enrolled asymptomatic individuals who lived in the same household with a SARS-CoV-2 infected patient.
Individuals were randomly assigned to a single dose of casirivimab 600mg and imdevimab 600mg (n=753) or placebo (n=752) administered subcutaneously within 96 hours of collection of the index cases’ positive SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test sample. The primary endpoint of the study was the proportion of individuals who developed RT-qPCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection through day 29.
Results showed that REGEN-COV reduced the risk of COVID-19 development by 81% in the primary analysis population (RT-qPCR negative and seronegative at baseline) compared with placebo (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.17; P <.0001). In a post-hoc analysis, a 62% reduction in risk was observed in the overall trial population (regardless of serology status at baseline) with REGEN-COV vs placebo (adjusted OR 0.35; P <.0001]
For postexposure prophylaxis, the authorized dose of REGEN-COV is casirivimab 600mg and imdevimab 600mg administered together either by subcutaneous injection or intravenous infusion. For individuals who remain at high risk of exposure for longer than 4 weeks, and who are not expected to mount an adequate immune response to COVID vaccination, repeat doses of casirivimab 300mg and imdevimab 300mg once every 4 weeks are appropriate for the duration of ongoing exposure.
Additional information on the use of REGEN-COV for postexposure prophylaxis can be found in the updated fact sheet.
