EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) – More than 700 people in the Chippewa Valley have received monoclonal antibody COVID-19 treatments from the Mayo Clinic Health System.
Since the FDA approved an emergency use authorization for treatment in November 2020, the health care system has been using it to treat high-risk virus patients.
Monoclonal antibody treatments are designed to keep people out of the hospital. According to the FDA, these are proteins produced in a laboratory designed to mimic the immune system’s ability to fight harmful pathogens such as viruses.
Mayo Clinic Eau Claire physician assistant Lori Arndt said they are meant to start the immune system.
“This prevents the virus from attaching to your cells and prevents you from developing severe COVID symptoms,” she said.
In mid-January, Bob and Joyce Wachsmuth tested positive for COVID-19. Bob Wachsmuth, 70, has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a type of lung disease. After his positive test, a doctor at Mayo Clinic saw his file and recommended that he receive monoclonal antibodies.
“I had more of a sense of relief that it was available to me because I had these underlying things and would probably rush the recovery and keep me out of the hospital or shorten the stay,” Bob Wachsmuth said.
A surviving cancer survivor, Joyce Wachsmuth, 67, also qualified for treatment. As a retired nurse, she did not think twice about having to take the experimental therapy.
“I had so much pain in my body and joints that it is much appreciated,” she said.
Hours after receiving the hour-long infusion, Joyce Wachsmuth said the pain was starting to subside.
“It was very fast that the monoclonal antibodies did their job,” she said.
But most importantly for Bob and Joyce Wachsmuth, they feel better.
“I feel like COVID hit a long time ago, actually when I put everything in perspective, even if it’s only three weeks,” Joyce Wachsmuth said.
“I feel good. Like I said, it doesn ‘t feel like it’s such a short time,” Bob Wachsmuth said.
Arndt said the vast majority of patients who received monoclonal antibodies avoided hospitalization.
Although patients receive the infusion in the hospital, they can go home later that day.
Arndt said patients receiving monoclonal antibodies should wait 90 days before receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
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