ARCHBALD, Pa. — A healthcare provider in Lackawanna County is expanding efforts to treat Covid patients with an antibody infusion treatment.
The Wright Center for Community Health gave Newswatch 16 a look at how the treatment works.
Erin Naro of Madison Township let news cameras watch from a distance as she received an IV treatment of Covid-19 antibodies last week. The medical professionals who tested her for Covid-19 just before Christmas suggested she give the treatment a try.
"So I called, I qualified, and I came," Naro said.
She went to The Wright Center for Community Health's Mid Valley campus near Jermyn to be hooked up to an IV. The former smoker spent about 90 minutes getting the treatment.
"It's not going to hurt, right? Maybe it will help," Naro added.
The Wright Center has been providing the antibody treatments for most of 2021 and plans to expand its infusion clinic in the Mid Valley and open one at its facility in Scranton.
The infusion is full of antibodies created in a lab that mimics how your own immune system works. The antibodies help your body do what it does naturally to fight the coronavirus.
"They should be Covid-positive, obviously, and they should not be hospitalized; it's only indicated for outpatient therapy. And the patient should qualify based on high-risk criteria the CDC has sent forward," said The Wright Center's chief medical officer Dr. Jignesh Sheth.
Newswatch 16 also spoke to two high-risk patients from Lackawanna County who received infusion treatments this fall. They told us their Covid-19 symptoms improved as early as a day after receiving the IV.
"The next day, probably all of my symptoms went away. It wasn't immediate though, I know that," said Harold Jones of Old Forge, who received the treatment in October.
"You know, aside from the current, that I had it, the long-term effect of having your antibodies raised was also attractive," said Tim O'Toole of Scranton, who contracted Covid-19 in November.
"It's a very simple treatment, and I'd highly recommend it," Jones added.
The Wright Center's chief medical officer Dr. Jignesh Sheth says even though the Covid antibody treatments have been available for about a year, the center's become much busier as the weather has gotten colder.
The center can treat about 15 people a day but, it expects to double that in the new year.
"I see this as a toolbox, our most important tool right now is actually the vaccine. So, I would still say that this does not take the place of vaccines. Vaccine is our only hope of ending this pandemic any time in the near future. So, please get vaccinated; that's my first message. In the event that you do get the infection, you do need treatment," Dr. Sheth said.
Dr. Sheth said the treatment will stick around for a while. His staff expects to treat Covid patients with antibody infusions through the end of 2024.
"I see myself doing this for at least two years, if not longer. This may end up being something that we offer going forward unless better treatments are available. In the near future, I don't see any comparable treatments coming out that is not an IV infusion," Dr. Sheth said.
As for Erin Naro, she tells Newswatch 16 it worked. She felt better less than a day after receiving the infusion.
Watch more stories about the coronavirus pandemic on WNEP’s YouTube page.