• Get in Touch
  • Get in Touch with our Support!
  • Privacy Policy
Sunday, January 29, 2023
OvaNewsBlast.com
  • Home
  • News
  • African Americans
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • African Americans
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
No Result
View All Result
OvaNewsBlast.com
No Result
View All Result

The Growth of Monoclonal Antibodies in North Texas

August 30, 2021
in Business
Reading Time: 3min read
A A
The Growth of Monoclonal Antibodies in North Texas
0
SHARES
8
VIEWS
Share ShareShareShareShareShare

Monoclonal antibodies are being used more and more as COVID-19 hospitalizations are going up in North Texas. Though the treatment is not a replacement for the vaccine, it is being used to treat high-risk COVID-19 patients and prevent disease for those who have been exposed. The therapy has also proven to be effective against the delta variant, which is currently filling up hospitals and ICUs in North Texas and around the country. 

Both Governor Greg Abbott and former President Donald Trump received Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody treatments when they caught COVID-19. Clinical trials showed that the treatment reduced hospitalization by 70 percent in high-risk patients. When given to someone who has been exposed, such as living with an infected person, monoclonal antibodies mitigate the risk of developing an infection by 80 percent. They function like the antibodies one produces from infection, only they are made in a lab. They bond with the proteins of the virus and block it from entering the body’s cells. 

Dr. Nikhil Bhayani (Courtesy: Texas Health Resource)

The treatment was given emergency use authorization by the FDA months into the pandemic, and has flipped the healthcare system’s ability to fight the virus, says Dr. Nikhil Bhayani, an infectious disease physician with Texas Health Resources. “It was literally a game-changer,” he says. “At the beginning of the pandemic, there were a lot of people who had mild symptoms, and they would come to the emergency room and flood the hospitals.”

The treatment is used on those with moderate symptoms, who don’t need to be hospitalized or receive oxygen, and most patients resolve quickly in 48 to 72 hours. A few weeks ago, the treatment was also given emergency use approval as a preventative measure for those who have been exposed. The treatment can be used without any symptoms for high-risk patients who have had exposure to COVID-19. The treatment is not usually used for younger and healthier patients and is still reserved for high-risk individuals. 

The state of Texas is allowing providers to contact the state department of health and human services to request monoclonal antibody treatments for their patients at no cost to the clinic. Patients go through a screening process to make sure they are high risk and have the virus. People over the age of 65, others who are immunocompromised, pregnant, obese, have chronic kidney disease, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, neuro-developmental disorders, those with medical-related technological dependence, or those who identify are high-risk ethnicity groups such as Hispanic or African Americans are all eligible. 

The treatment can be given intravenously or through the skin, and lasts an hour. The injections are administered in four different sites if delivered through the skin, and patients have to be watched for a couple of hours to ensure there are no adverse reactions. Bhayani emphasized that the treatment works best if administered soon after exposure or symptoms. The body doesn’t start making its own antibodies for ten days, so receiving monoclonal antibodies soon after symptoms or exposure will be most effective. “Let’s jumpstart your immune system here a little bit,” he says. “That way, we can get to these neutralizing antibodies to prevent the virus from doing further damage.”

More studies will need to be done to determine if this same process can be used against other viruses. The method could, in theory, apply to future coronaviruses or further mutations. “It definitely gives a sense of hope that we can use monoclonal antibodies to treat viral infections,” Bhayani says. 

But most importantly, Bhayani says these treatments should not be relied on in place of the vaccine, which is the most effective way to prevent hospitalization and severe illness. In Texas, .2 percent of all hospitalizations are vaccinated patients, and .4 percent of deaths are vaccinated. “the vaccine is highly preventative,” Bhayani says. “This is not a substitute for the vaccine.”


Credit: Source link

ShareTweetSendSharePinShare
Previous Post

Wealthy Lobbyists Already Slashed 75% of Biden’s Tax Reform

Next Post

Afro-Con Is Coming This Weekend

Next Post
Afro-Con Is Coming This Weekend

Afro-Con Is Coming This Weekend

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
N.S. Black-owned businesses gear up for National Black Canadians Summit

N.S. Black-owned businesses gear up for National Black Canadians Summit

July 29, 2022
Building bridges gets attention from CBS News

Building bridges gets attention from CBS News

January 15, 2022
Peacock Releases ‘The Best Man: Final Chapters’ Official Teaser: WATCH

Peacock Releases ‘The Best Man: Final Chapters’ Official Teaser: WATCH

October 30, 2022
YMBC Birmingham Business Group Takes Historic Stand Against Racism

YMBC Birmingham Business Group Takes Historic Stand Against Racism

October 15, 2020
Troy Carter — from managing Lady Gaga to collecting blue-chip art

Troy Carter — from managing Lady Gaga to collecting blue-chip art

October 8, 2021
Racial tension in the groves of academe – Pasadena Star News

Racial tension in the groves of academe – Pasadena Star News

January 29, 2023
Appomattox, future Tech linebacker Copeland aims to ‘inspire’ as high school days wind down

Appomattox, future Tech linebacker Copeland aims to ‘inspire’ as high school days wind down

January 29, 2023
Shakopee to Host Hockey Day Minnesota 2025

Shakopee to Host Hockey Day Minnesota 2025

January 29, 2023
Zimbabwe’s Finance Ministry objects to business indexing pricing to black market – The Zimbabwe Mail

Zimbabwe’s Finance Ministry objects to business indexing pricing to black market – The Zimbabwe Mail

January 28, 2023
African American center to host Night in Harlem | Entertainment

African American center to host Night in Harlem | Entertainment

January 28, 2023

Recent News

Roger Stone calls Black radio host racial slur in interview | News, Sports, Jobs

New exhibit to explore Black history in ADKs | News, Sports, Jobs

January 27, 2023
North Carolina Black History Month events in the Piedmont Triad

North Carolina Black History Month events in the Piedmont Triad

January 27, 2023
Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics — 1.23.23

Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics — 1.23.23

January 23, 2023
Crypto, Blockchain-Friendly Business Practices To Garner Wealth For Everyone

Crypto, Blockchain-Friendly Business Practices To Garner Wealth For Everyone

January 23, 2023
OvaNewsBlast.com

A reliable source for African American news, from a different lens. Yours. News about us, by us.

Follow Us

Recent News

Racial tension in the groves of academe – Pasadena Star News

Racial tension in the groves of academe – Pasadena Star News

January 29, 2023
Appomattox, future Tech linebacker Copeland aims to ‘inspire’ as high school days wind down

Appomattox, future Tech linebacker Copeland aims to ‘inspire’ as high school days wind down

January 29, 2023

Topics to cover !

  • African Americans
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • News
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Get in Touch
  • Get in Touch with our Support!
  • Privacy Policy

© 2020 ovanewsblast.com - All rights reserved!   Download Our App   Read News on odbnewsblast.com

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • African Americans
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Entertainment

© 2020 ovanewsblast.com - All rights reserved!   Download Our App   Read News on odbnewsblast.com