New drug available here for high risk COVID patients

    Chase County Community Hospital (CCCH) began its first infusions of Bamlanivimab on Tuesday, a new monoclonal antibody drug that has emergency use authorization from the FDA for treatment of COVID-19.
    According to CCCH Chief Nursing Officer Shannon Kuhlmann, monoclonal antibodies directly neutralize the COVID-19 virus and are intended to prevent progression of the disease.
    They are most effective when given as early as possible after testing positive for COVID-19, she said.
    “The exciting part about Bamlanivimab is that it is a one-time infusion given as an outpatient before you get really sick,” she said.
    Previously, the hospital had only Remdesivir that could be given in the hospital setting over five days when people were sick enough that they were requiring oxygen.
    With this new treatment, “The goal is to treat patients right away, reduce symptoms and reduce the need for hospitalization,” Kuhlmann said.
    The federal government started allocations to hospitals last week. CCCH is participating in allocations through UNMC for its outpatients and also through Great Plains Health for nursing home residents.
    Kuhlmann said their first shipment of eight doses arrived last week, and they were expecting 13 more on Tuesday.
    Currently the medication itself is free of charge through government allocations.
    “With Bamlanivimab you’re directly infusing COVID antibodies into the body so the body can immediately start fighting it,” Kuhlmann added.
    Normally it takes days for the body to build up and make the antibodies to fight it and so the body develops symptoms and gets sick during that time. Infusing the antibodies has shown to decrease symptoms by up to 70% and decrease hospitalizations, she said.
     Kuhlmann said they have set up an outpatient infusion area in the hospital’s COVID hall to quickly get patients in for treatment. A team works together to make the entire screening process through administration simple, safe and effective, she added.
    Bamlanivimab is intended for high risk patients and there is a strict list of criteria for patients to qualify for its treatment.
    Anyone over the age of 65 automatically qualifies, Kuhlmann said. Currently all patients that test positive at Chase County Hospital and Clinic get screened and notified if they qualify for the treatment. It is then up to patients to decide if they would like the treatment.
    “We are asking everyone in the community that gets tested at TestNebraska or elsewhere to reach out to us if they feel they are high risk and might qualify for this new treatment,” Kuhlmann said.
     While the goal of Bamlanivimab is to treat high risk patients early on, decrease symptoms and prevent hospitalizations, CCCH still has Remdesivir that is provided to patients in the COVID  hall that do get really sick and require oxygen.
    Remdesivir is a five-day treatment of IV medication. Patients must be hospitalized to receive Remdesivir, she said.
    “We are very excited to offer this innovative and most up-to-date treatment to our community with goals to decrease symptoms, severity and hospitalizations and improve patient outcomes,” Kuhlmann said.