WNEM TV 5 — Paramedics are now administering a covid-19 treatment proven to reduce symptoms and hospitalizations from the virus inside patient’s homes.

“We’re preventing the emergencies from happening in the first place,” said Kolby Miller, the CEO of Medstar of Michigan.

Normally ambulances respond to an emergency and transport the patient to the hospital. Now, Medstar is delivering monoclonal antibody therapy to patients in the comfort of their home.

“Monoclonal antibodies are something that is used for a patient who either lives in an environment where they are at risk of contracting covid, or they’ve contracted covid themselves and are fragile, medically fragile,” Miller said.

It’s a treatment that must be prescribed by a physician.

The monoclonal antibodies reduce the chance of contracting covid, and help fight it once contracted, but it’s not to be confused with the vaccine.

“It’s really not a vaccine. It’s a temporary measure that will build up your immune system,” Miller said. “Of those patients who received it, none of them have had their situation worsen.”

Miller said as more physicians become aware of this treatment, demand has skyrocketed.

“When we first set the program up, we were probably getting a request every other day, every third day, maybe sometimes only once a week. Now sometimes there are 10, 12, 15 a day,” Miller said.

Miller hopes the supply can keep up with the demand.

“We’re not there yet, but there may come a time where we have to prioritize who gets them based on their clinical situation or their physician’s referral, or whatever the clinical input is,” Miller said.

But Miller said an increase in demand shouldn’t deter anyone from seeking a physician’s referral for the monoclonal antibody treatment.

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