Antibody Treatment for COVID-19 Patients in Shreveport

There is great news for people in our community that contract Coronavirus. Shreveport-Bossier COVID-19 patients that choose CHRISTUS are now able to access a new antibody treatment. According to The Ark-La-Tex Homepage, "Christus Shreveport-Bossier Health System announced Tuesday that it was offering a monoclonal antibody therapy for patients with COVID-19 and started administering treatment last week.".

What is "monoclonal antibody therapy"? According to the FDA website "Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off harmful antigens such as viruses. Bamlanivimab is a monoclonal antibody that is specifically directed against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, designed to block the virus’ attachment and entry into human cells."

I lost an uncle and an aunt to COVID-19. I wish that a treatment like this was available 4 months ago. I am grateful that a treatment such as this one has been granted emergency use and is available for our community.

The FDA just recently approved monoclonal antibody therapy to treat cases of COVID-19, so for now, this treatment is just being used on patients who have increased risks or have some serious underlying medical issues. Of course, before receiving treatment you will have to qualify through CHRISTUS. If you know of someone that has contracted COVID-19 and has underlying medical issues, make sure you share this information with them, it could save their life.