Kern Medical and the Kern County Public Health Department announced the State-sponsored monoclonal infusion site is now open in Kern County.

The site is located at 1111 Columbus Street, Suite 5000 in Bakersfield, 93305, and is open Monday through Saturday from 8AM to 6PM.

The site can provide up to 25 treatments per day and is open to everyone, regardless of health insurance or immigration status.

Monoclonal antibody therapy may help reduce symptoms and keep patients out of the hospital if they have recently tested positive for COVID-19.

Monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 is authorized and may be recommended for people who are at high risk for progression to severe infection AND who have the following vaccination status AND exposure history:

• Recently had a positive COVID-19 test, AND
• Experienced first symptoms in the last 10 days, AND
• Are 12 years of age or older and over 88lb/40kg, AND
• In a high-risk category (includes having one of the list below):
• Are age 65 or older
• Are obese or overweight, with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or greater
• Pregnancy
• Have diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or condition that weakens the immune system
• Have heart disease, high blood pressure, or lung disease (like asthma)
• Are age 12-17 AND have obesity OR other long-term conditions
• Other medical conditions or factors (for example, race or ethnicity) that may place the patient at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19

Antibodies are produced naturally by your immune system to recognize and respond to germs that cause illnesses, like bacteria and viruses. A monoclonal antibody is a laboratory-produced protein that functions similar to natural antibodies and targets a specific germ like SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.

For more information or to make an appointment please call (661) 326-5206. Self-referral or physician referral are both accepted. Also, information about this treatment site and monoclonal treatments can be found at kernpublichealth.com