While much attention is focused on COVID-19 vaccines, many people are still getting sick from the virus. Patients are being hospitalized and the death rate remains significant. There is a treatment, however, that can help people with a high risk of complications from COVID.

Holy Name Medical Center is offering a largely successful treatment, monoclonal antibody therapy, to patients at risk for severe complications. Holy Name was the first hospital nationwide to offer the therapy through clinical trials and has now made it available to eligible patients.

Monoclonal antibody therapy actively disables the virus and remains the most effective treatment for COVID. The medication is synthesized in the laboratory; it is not a blood product. It is administered intravenously in the Medical Center’s COVID Infusion Center for those who are not hospitalized. It is well-tolerated.

To date, Holy Name has treated more than 1,200 patients with this therapy, which has been shown to be safe and effective, often speeding recovery and/or diminishing symptoms. The Medical Center is making this therapy available to eligible patients, based on FDA guidelines. The treatment involves a one-time infusion at the Medical Center, a procedure that takes about an hour followed by an additional hour of observation.

Patients who are within ten days of initial symptoms, have one or more of the conditions listed above and have tested positive for COVID-19 may be eligible for the antibody treatment. If you are ill and have not been tested, call 201-833-3313 to schedule a COVID-19 test.

For more information on monoclonal antibody treatment at Holy Name, call 201-833-3495.