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Tens of thousands of high-risk Israelis can now receive outpatient antibody treatment as soon as they are diagnosed with COVID-19, in the hope that it will prevent the deterioration of serious illness.
The Department of Health has a supply of thousands of doses of Bamlanivimab made in the United States, which is specifically intended for non-severe patients. It has started distributing them to doctors, who now offer the two-hour infusion treatment to outpatients in certain high-risk categories who test positive for the virus.
Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center became the first institution to start giving treatment on Monday, giving it to four ambulatory, and other hospitals are expected to follow.
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Bamlanivimab is made up of monoclonal antibodies, which are laboratory proteins that mimic the ability of the immune system to fight harmful antigens, including viruses.
“We hope to see this treatment change the course of the disease and prevent people from deteriorating,” Hadassah chief executive Zeev Rotstein told The Times of Israel. “We want, ideally, to give it before people have symptoms or while symptoms are still mild – the sooner the better.
“We know that if we give it widely, for some people it will be in vain, but we think that it can prevent a lot of getting sick,” he said. “It is believed to slow the growth of the virus and reduce the risk of serious illness.”
Hadassah nurse undergoing treatment with Bamlanivimab monoclonal antibodies (courtesy Hadassah Medical Center)
Ian Miskin, an infectious disease physician who heads coronavirus care for healthcare provider Clalit, was more wary. He told The Times of Israel that his doctors will send patients for treatment to Hadassah – and possibly other hospitals in due course – but reserved judgment on his performance. “It’s not a quick fix,” he said, adding that while the extent of its benefits is not yet clear, it “does no harm”.
Bamlanivimab obtained emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration in November.
Zeev Rotstein, Director of Hadassah Medical Center (courtesy Hadassah Medical Center)
The FDA reported that while the drug’s safety and effectiveness was still being evaluated, it was found to “reduce COVID-19-related hospitalizations or emergency room visits in patients with high risk of disease progression within 28 days of treatment compared to placebo. ”
Hadassah’s Ein Kerem Campus offers treatment to COVID-positive patients who arrive by ambulance organized by their healthcare provider, as required by virus isolation rules, and who are on immunosuppressive drugs, chemotherapy, dialysis, or who have had organ transplants or are taking medications or inhalers for lung disease.
It is primarily aimed at residents of the Jerusalem area, but if health care providers offer to bring people from other parts of Israel, they will be accepted.
Rotstein said he had high hopes for the antibodies, but stressed, “This treatment is not a substitute for vaccines.”
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