Most of the doses of COVID-19 antibody drugs sent to states have not been used, Moncef Slaoui, chief of Operation Warp Speed, the US government’s vaccination effort, told CNBC. About 65,000 doses of the drugs, which can help protect people at high risk for severe COVID-19 from developing severe cases of the disease, go out every week. Only 5 to 20 percent ends up with patients.
It’s disappointing, Slaoui told CNBC, because the drugs can help keep COVID-19 patients out of the hospital.
Doses are not used because their administration is complicated. Persistent spikes in COVID-19 cases across the country mean states don’t have the resources to handle those logistics. The Utah Department of Health said The edge in November that the state had to concentrate on keeping hospitals afloat and not spend time organizing the distribution of the antibodies.
This is a massive failure that we must fix.
It is also a failure many predicted.We now have the tools to end covid suffering. We just have to find a way to get them to patients. https://t.co/XZULmqpSam
– Walid Gellad, MD MPH (@walidgellad) December 15, 2020
Despite thousands of unused doses, the antibody drugs, made by the pharmaceutical companies Regeneron and Eli Lilly, are limited. Each state gets a flat fee each week based on the number of COVID-19 cases it reports each week. Next, the state must decide how it is divided between hospitals. It’s not an readily available resource, so doctors don’t rely on it as standard treatment.
Another challenge is that the antibody drugs must be given to patients shortly after they contract COVID-19. Time is everything. If patients are not tested or do not get test results within a short period of time after they become ill, they will not be able to benefit from the drug. Even if they are quickly diagnosed with COVID-19 at a testing site, they may not start to feel seriously ill or call a doctor until they are outside that window. Without that contact, they may not know about the drug or be offered it.
In addition, the drug must be administered intravenously – so patients who are in the early, most contagious stages of their disease should go to a hospital or outpatient clinic where they will interact with nurses and doctors. States and health organizations must create safe places where patients can receive treatment.
Slaoui told CNBC that Operation Warp Speed could help states process those logistics. But for now they still are a barrier that keeps thousands from receiving treatment for COVID-19.