Doctors are relying more on monoclonal antibodies to fight COVID — but not everyone can receive the therapy
CBSN
Doctors across the United States are relying more on monoclonal antibodies as a powerful weapon against COVID-19. The lab-grown proteins help the body target and eliminate a COVID infection.
According to Dr. Thomas Gullatt, the chief medical officer at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, Louisiana, they've become one of the center's most effective therapies. "It's done a great job of helping high-risk patients stay out of the hospital," Gullatt told CBS News' David Begnaud. The therapy is becoming more available at hospitals and clinics across the country. Since July 1, Gullatt said St. Francis Medical Center has given about 1,700 doses. But not everyone can receive the therapy — it is only administered after infection, within ten days of the first symptoms, and before they get too severe.Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.