Oklahoma health experts push to stop certain antibody treatments

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Oklahoma health experts push to stop certain monoclonal antibody treatments for patients with COVID-19.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it will now limit the use of two of the three antibody treatments because they are said to be ineffective against omicron.

In Oklahoma and the U.S., 99% of new cases are the omicron variant. Dr. Dale Bratzler of OU Health said that it just makes sense to stop giving the treatments made by Regeneron and by Eli Lilly.

“We’ve known it for more than a month, and yet we kept promoting it, kept using it, as I told one person, I think, for the most part, giving those monoclonal antibodies was no better than a placebo effect,” Bratzler said.

In some cases, Bratzler said that using the drugs could be worse than a placebo.

“You subject the patient to a little bit of risk because some people do have allergic reactions and you’re not benefitting the patient,” Bratzler said.

The Eli Lilly and Regeneron antibody treatments worked against previous variants when treating seriously ill patients.

“But they’re not beneficial against the current virus that’s spreading around the country,” Bratzler said.

There are still treatments that work against omicron. There are two different antiviral pills, the antiviral infusion Remdesevir and Sotrovimab, the monoclonal antibody treatment that does work against the variant.

Many of these treatments are in short supply.

“So again, if your doctor doesn’t send for you Sotrovimab or one of these treatments, it’s likely because you’re not in a high-risk category,” Bratzler said.

It is important to note that not everyone in the U.S. supports this. Florida’s governor called the decision reckless and pointed to the fact that there are still cases where this treatment could work.

Find information about COVID-19 vaccinations here.

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