NM is planning an outpatient facility, for newly diagnosed, symptomatic, covid-19 patients to receive a one-time IV infusion of covid-19 antibodies. The drug companies report an over-supply of covid-19 antibody drugs; that treatment is most effective when administered within 10 days of symptom onset; and that their studies showed patients who received the infusion shortly after diagnosis did not need further medical treatment.
Treating newly diagnosed covid-19 patients shortly after diagnosis, rather than waiting to determine which patients develop severe disease based on arrival at the hospital emergency room, seems like a common sense idea. A combination of effective acute care and a vaccine for covid-19 is a way to relieve the burden on hospitals and society, and reduce the fear surrounding covid-19.
Early, outpatient antibody treatment will likely reduce hospitalizations, the spread of covid-19, and human suffering; and protect against the risk of long-hauler complications. Further testing of currently available drugs and drug combinations, in newly diagnosed covid-19 patients, is also warranted.
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