There’s a new tool being used to combat the rise in COVID-19 cases brought on by the delta variant of the coronavirus: Regeneron. It’s the monoclonal antibody infusion therapy that can decrease chances of hospitalization by up to 70%.
Regeneron received emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration for use in treating those sick with COVID-19 late last year, says Texas Tribune health reporter Karen Brooks Harper.
“So once that happened, that’s when you saw Gov. Abbott and the national health officials and everybody really pushing for it,” she told the Standard.
If Regeneron sounds somewhat familiar, that’s because it is the treatment used last year by former President Donald Trump, and by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last week.
But it took a while for Regeneron to gain traction this year because vaccinations were taking off.
“There was a lot of new information going on at the same time. And there was a whole lot of hesitancy early on by not only the public, but the medical community,” Harper said. “And there was a very, very slim set of guidelines for people who even qualified.”
But the qualifications for the drug therapy have changed.
“If you’re 12 and up, if you’ve been having symptoms for fewer than 10 days, is when it works the best,” she said.
A few months ago, 330,000 doses of Regeneron were sent to Texas. The therapy takes two hours to administer and it is free if prescribed.
