Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
WORLAND – An emergency use authorization treatment for COVID-19 proved beneficial for one local resident.
When the COVID-19 pandemic first began in the spring of 2020, no specific treatment for the virus existed. Since then, however, the Food and Drug Association (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to several monoclonal antibody therapies as treatments for COVID-19.
Monoclonal antibodies (MAB) are laboratory made proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off harmful pathogens such as viruses.
According to Dr. Ed Zimmerman with Big Horn Family Medicine in Worland, antibodies are proteins made by immune systems to fight infections, such as the COVID-19 virus.
“Our immune system takes two to three weeks to make good antibodies,” Zimmerman said. “Monoclonal antibodies are supplemental antibodies that can be given the first 10 days of symptoms to bind and kill the COVID-19 virus. A monoclonal antibody infusion can be lifesaving if given within the first 10 days of symptoms,” he said. “They have been proven to reduce the risk of hospitalization by 70% in high-risk, unvaccinated people.”
Anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and who is at high risk for progressing to severe symptoms based on their physician’s clinical assessment is qualified for this treatment.
“Factors that make you at higher risk for severe COVID include things such as obesity, diabetes, age over 65, lung disease, heart disease, kidney disease or any disease or treatment that suppresses your immune system,” he said.
Ashley Settlemire, a resident from Ten Sleep, received the treatment on Oct. 22 after testing positive for COVID-19, qualifying due to an auto immune kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease which puts her in a high-risk category.
“The experience was very scary in the beginning, mostly the anticipation and just the worry that something will go wrong since it’s still experimental,” Settlemire said. “The actual treatment itself was relatively painless and anxiety free. The nurses were amazing and did their best to make you feel comfortable.
“After I tested positive, because of my high risk status, the antibody treatment was immediately discussed and I was told that the doctor’s office was going to refer me for the treatment and that she would call me with the details,” Settlemire said.
Settlemire said when she received a call from her doctor’s office, she was told that she did qualify and that she had to go to a website to review the educational information and then call her physician back the next day to let them know she had read it and wanted to proceed forward.
“The educational material summed up the known side effects that could happen and that this is an experimental procedure and that there could be unknown side effects due to this. Also, that it could possibly hinder you from being able to fight off COVID if you did get it again. I did this and agreed,” she said.
INFORMATION ON THE INJECTION
Washakie Medical Center uses the investigational drug bamlanivimab in their injection to treat the coronavirus.
According to the webMD website, common side effects after the infusion include pain, soreness, swelling or bruising of the skin at the injection site. If these symptoms occur, tell your healthcare professional promptly.
An infusion reaction may occur while bamlanivimab is being given, causing symptoms such as low blood pressure, dizziness, trouble breathing, chills, nausea, ever, headache or muscle pain.
WebMD states that a serious allergic reaction to this drug is rare, however, one should get medical help right away if they notice symptoms of an allergic reaction, such as rash, itching or swelling especially of the face, tongue and throat, severe dizziness and trouble breathing.
More information about the bamlanivimab is available from the Food and Drug Administation fact sheet for patients, parents and caregivers. Bamlanivimab is a onetime injection into the vein given by a healthcare professional at an infusion site.
THE TREATMENT
Personnel at her doctor’s office contacted Washakie Medical Center and then a WMC employee contacted Settlemire to schedule a time for the treatment.
“When I arrived at the hospital I was escorted back to what I would assume is the COVID area and into a room where two nurses awaited me. We went over the basics that you could with any procedure plus the educational material for this again as well,” Settlemire said. “They took my vitals and after a simple IV we started.”
Settlemire said the infusion took 20 minutes and then an hour of monitoring.
“During the infusion and the monitoring time, the nurses were very attentive, looking for signs of any issues and asking me if I was OK if they saw anything out of the ordinary. They periodically checked my vitals. I did get a bit nauseous at the end of the infusion and I had a bit of itching and burning sensation in my arm but other than that no other side effects during the infusion or monitoring period.”
Settlemire reported feeling a difference by the next day.
“I could feel an amazing difference in my lungs. The day before the procedure, I was on the verge of going to the hospital because of the pain and pressure in my chest and because I was struggling to breathe. I felt disoriented and for lack of better words, out of it. The day after the procedure, most of that was gone.”
She added, “Everybody has to educate themselves and make their own decisions health wise and especially with this being an experimental procedure so I would never tell anybody to do it but I can tell you that I 100% believe I would have been in the hospital had I not. So, if this is an option for you, I would recommend looking into it.”
As of Oct. 29, 105 patients have received the monoclonal antibody treatment at Washakie Medical Center in Worland. Michelle Hamilton, associate pharmacy director at WMC, stated that treatment should be done within 10 days of showing symptoms, but the outcome seems better if the treatment is done within seven days.
According to Hamilton, in order to qualify, you need a positive antigen test, you cannot be on oxygen and you must still be in the mild to moderate phase of showing symptoms.
Hamilton’s role in providing the treatment includes evaluating the patient for any risk factors, looking at their lab results and approving the patients for the intravenous infusions.
Treatment can take up to two hours. You must be 18 years old or older to qualify.
Zimmerman added that vaccination to prevent serious disease in the first place is the best treatment.
Oral steroids may be useful for those who are requiring oxygen but are not hospitalized. Other treatments such as hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin have not been shown to be effective and have not been approved by the FDA as treatment for COVID-19.
“Getting fully vaccinated against COVID-19 is the most effective thing you can do to protect yourself and those around you,” Zimmerman said. “I have hospitalized dozens of patients for severe COVID in the past few months and not a single one was vaccinated. If someone who is vaccinated does get COVID, the infections have been very mild. The vaccines are safe and very effective at preventing severe disease. People are dying needlessly of COVID in emergency departments across Wyoming. Please get your COVID-19 vaccination.”