Virus treatment is going unused

People unaware of life-saving infusion, doctors say

A free life-saving COVID-19 treatment available in South Florida is going unused at local hospitals.

Doctors say not enough people in South Florida seem to know about the treatment — an infusion of antibodies — which, when administered early after a COVID diagnosis, can prevent symptoms from worsening and stave off hospitalization or death. The infusion, the same treatment given to President Donald Trump when he tested positive for COVID-19, takes one hour, followed by an hour of observation before patients are released to self-monitor at home.

“We have seen unbelievable results,” said Dr. Boaz Rosenblat, medical director of the Emergency Department at Memorial Pembroke. “Patients have gone from sitting in beds lethargic and not eating to waking up and having breakfast and feeling energized. I’m a huge advocate based on what I have seen.”

The treatment is offered as an outpatient service at hospitals, and any primary care doctor can send a patient for antibody infusion. Most hospitals also have hotlines to get a referral for the treatment, or they encourage calling

the hospital Emergency Departments to get one.

The treatment reduces the progression of the disease in people who receive a positive COVID19 test result, but it must be given within 10 days after COVID symptoms surface to be most effective. To qualify, you must meet three requirements: have mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19, have tested positive for COVID19 within the previous 10 days, and be at high risk of getting more serious symptoms because of age or co-morbidities.

Since December more than 430 patients have received the therapy at Memorial, but the hospital says it has at least 600 more doses available. Other South Florida hospitals also have excess supply waiting for those newly diagnosed with COVID.

“Here is a treatment that is effective, and so few people know about it,” Rosenblat said. “I’m not sure where the disconnect is.”

Some of the hospitals that are offering the treatments:

Broward County

■ Memorial Pembroke, Pembroke Pines (call 954-985-3034)

■ Broward Health North, Pompano Beach (call 954-320-5730)

■ Broward Health Coral Springs, Coral Springs (call 954-320-5730)

■ Broward Health Medical Center, Fort Lauderdale (call 954-320-5730)

■ Holy Cross Hospital, Fort Lauderdale (call 954-492-5753)

Palm Beach County

■ Bethesda East, Boynton Beach (call 1-833-my-baptist)

■ Boca Regional Hospital, Boca Raton (call 1-833-my-baptist)

■ Wellington Regional Medical Center, Wellington (call 561-798-8500)

■ Jupiter Medical Center, Jupiter (call 561-263-2234)

Two different forms of the monoclonal antibodies treatment are available. One is called Regeneron, a cocktail of drugs, the therapy Trump was given. The other is bamlanivimab, which can now be combined with etesevimab and administered together as a cocktail.

So far, tests on two variants of the coronavirus show that antibodies in these therapies can neutralize both. Researchers say having different drugs in the cocktail allows for a better chance of holding up well against variants. In Florida currently, COVID tests do not indicate the variant of the virus.

A deal between the manufacturers and the federal government supplies the monoclonal antibodies to hospitals, which give them free to patients. However, there may be a charge for the drug’s administration, depending on the patient’s insurance coverage.

When Ellis Mass received a COVID-19 diagnosis, he acted fast. Only 50, the Parkland resident has a high body mass index that puts him at risk of a worse outcome.

“You have to have the treatment within 10 days, so it was a race against the clock,” Mass said. When he arrived at Memorial, Mass had a fever, cough and fatigue. After an infusion, the fatigue lifted and fever subsided by the next day. He took a COVID test a week later and received a negative result.

“It cleared the virus from my system quicker than I would have on my own, and I didn’t have any longhaul symptoms. I followed up with my primary care physician and cardiologist to make sure I’m in good shape and I am,” he said.

Broward Health officials say the hospital has plenty of doses and has administered only about 17% of what’s available — and more doses are arriving this week. The infusions are available at Broward Health Medical Center, Broward Health North and Broward Health Coral Springs.

Dr. Warren Sturman, a cardiologist with Broward Health, says early results have been encouraging. He urges anyone in the highrisk category to be aware of this treatment and act quickly to make an appointment.

“If you are at high risk, with COVID you can’t wait because you can’t predict when you could take a turn for the worse,” Sturman said. “Once you are in the hospital and on oxygen, you’re considered too sick.”

Across the country, much like in South Florida, monoclonal antibodies treatments are sitting unused in hospital refrigerators as vaccines roll out. Data collected by the federal government suggest hospitals have given only about 20% of their supply to patients, according to The New York Times.

Even after Trump touted his miraculous recovery from the therapy, demand from patients has been less than expected, and South Florida emergency room doctors say even physician practices seem unaware of this option for patients.

“There’s definitely a knowledge gap,” said Dr. Kitonga Kiminyo, an infectious disease specialist in Palm Beach County.

Kiminyo and other Palm Beach County doctors are calling for increased awareness and availability, particularly in underserved communities. “Those are the people who end up in the hospital from this disease, and that is where these treatments would make a difference,” he said.

In Palm Beach County, the hospitals that offer the infusions are in Boynton Beach, Wellington, Jupiter and Boca Raton.

“They are not in the emergency room at Lakeside’s emergency room [in Belle Glade] or in St. Mary’s. They’re not in places where our Black and brown people would know anything about or be able to access them,” Kiminyo said. “It may be about politics or it may be a financial decision, but it’s not about the patients, because we know this is something that works.”

Kiminyo and other black leaders in Palm Beach County want every testing site and physician to inform people at high risk of complications about the treatment. “Once people know about it, they should be able to easily set up an appointment and get it done.”

Baptist South Florida, which operates Boca Regional Hospital and Bethesda East in Palm Beach County, says those two facilities also have plenty of doses of monoclonal antibodies to give out. “We have continuously requested and received supply,” a spokesperson said.

Devin Grandis of Delray Beach, 61, said he has diabetes and hypertension and would have been much sicker had he not received the treatment four days after he learned he had COVID. Before the infusion at Bethesda Hospital West, Grandis said he experienced chills and exhaustion.

“The next day, it was like a light switch went on. I didn’t feel like I have anything,” he said. “More people need to know about this. It’s a great solution to this unfortunate situation we are in.”