The Hilo Medical Center (HMC) is finalizing plans to open a monoclonal antibody clinic, which will treat the growing number of patients infected with COVID-19.
Funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and staffed by FEMA-funded personnel, the facility will be situated on the ground floor of the hospital. HMC spokeswoman Elena Cabatu told West Hawaii Today, “We’re still working out a lot of the logistics. The hope is to have the clinic up and running by the end of the month.”
Hawaii Department of Health officials recently announced that a federal team of up to 30 civilians is set to be dispatched to the area to administer the antibody treatments. All the workers were expected to be in Hawaii on Sunday, Sept. 19, with six teams stationed at hospitals or federally qualified health centers across the state.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration defines monoclonal antibodies as “laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system's ability to fight off harmful pathogens.”
The antibodies are specifically designed to block the virus’ attachment, and the treatment is authorized for patients over the age of 12 who are known to be suffering from mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms that are at risk of becoming more serious.
Cabatu said state officials began prescribing the antibody treatments “as soon as it became available to us.”
As it is, the treatments are now available through an intravenous infusion in the hospital’s emergency department. West Hawaii Today reports that the new clinic has plans of administering the treatments in a series of four shots instead.
“It also will take off some of the pressure on our emergency department by being able to administer the treatment and have them observed in a location outside of the ER,” Catabu said. "It will help us with the overall hospitalizations. There’s a lot of evidence it’s very helpful in keeping people out of the hospitals and becoming severely impacted by COVID, and this is very helpful given we’re in the part of the surge that has pushed our hospital beyond its capacity in terms of hospitalizations.”
While authorities stress that the treatments are not a substitute for vaccinations, they note that in August, 54 people received the treatment and another 25 have done so in September.
“Targeted use of monoclonal antibodies could keep Hawaii COVID-19 patients from developing severe illness that requires hospitalization,” Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Char said, according to a Department of Health News Release. “However, COVID-19 vaccination remains the most effective way to create long-lasting immunity and prevent severe illness and death. Increasing access to monoclonal antibody therapy will reduce strain on our hospitals. We thank our state and federal partners for their assistance."