Broward Health Medical Center uses monoclonal antibody therapy to treat COVID-19

In the fight against COVID-19 and its variants, a South Florida hospital has revised its COVID-19 treatment using a promising pair of antibodies, which is showing positive results.

Pharmacy workers at Broward Health Medical Center are mixing meds and adding two very important drugs to its arsenal in fighting COVID-19.

It’s called monoclonal antibody therapy.

“It gives them the antibodies that their body is trying to make while it fights off the COVID infection that it has, and early on is really the key,” said chief medical officer Dr. Joseph Lenchus.

We first heard about the therapy when former President Donald Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19. He was given the Regeneron infusion, and it seems he got better rather quickly.

“It has shown to decrease those patients from going to the hospital altogether and from dying, and the patients we have provided this to, none of them have come back to the hospital or suffered severe side effects,” Lenchus said.

The therapy essentially reduces the risk of COVID patients from getting sicker.

“The first call should be to your primary care physician’s office, who could then ask you a series of questions to make sure that you fit into one of the categories that you would be administered this medication,” Lenchus said.

The two drugs are administered together through IV, and has shown to even help against new variants.

“The monoclonal antibodies can be used for patients 12 and older who weigh at least 88 pounds in the mild to moderate forms of COVID-19, who are predisposed to developing more severe forms,” Lenchus said.

This is just one more tool doctors at Broward Health Medical Center are using to save lives during the unprecedented pandemic that is COVID-19.