EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) – More than 700 people in the Chippewa Valley have received treatments with monoclonal antibody COVID-19 from the Mayo Clinic Health System.
Since the FDA approved an emergency use authorization for treatment in November 2020, the healthcare system has used it to treat patients with high-risk viruses.
Monoclonal antibody treatments are designed to keep people out of the hospital. According to the FDA, they are proteins made in a laboratory designed to mimic the immune system’s ability to fight harmful pathogens such as viruses.
Mayo Clinic Eau Claire assistant physician Lori Arndt said the goal is to boost the immune system.
“It blocks the virus from binding to cells and prevents you from developing severe symptoms of COVID,” she said.
In mid-January, Bob and Joyce Wachsmuth tested positive for COVID-19. Bob Wachsmuth, 70, has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a type of lung disease. After his positive test, a doctor at the Mayo Clinic saw his file and recommended that he receive monoclonal antibodies.
“I had more of a sense of relief because, having these underlying things, it was available to me and would probably speed recovery and keep me out of the hospital or shorten hospital stay,” said Bob Wachsmuth.
A cancer survivor, Joyce Wachsmuth, 67, also qualified for treatment. As a retired nurse, she didn’t think twice about doing experimental therapy.
“I had such severe pain in my body and joints that anything that gave me relief was greatly appreciated,” she said.
Hours after receiving the hour-long infusion, Joyce Wachsmuth said the pain started to subside.
“It was very fast that these monoclonal antibodies were doing their job,” she said.
But most importantly for Bob and Joyce Wachsmuth, they are feeling better.
“I feel like COVID achieved a kind of success a long time ago, in fact, when I put everything in perspective, even though it was just three weeks,” said Joyce Wachsmuth.
“I’m feeling good. As I said, it doesn’t look that short,” said Bob Wachsmuth.
Arndt said the vast majority of patients who received monoclonal antibodies avoided hospitalization.
Although patients receive the infusion at the hospital, they can return home later that day.
Arndt said patients who receive monoclonal antibodies should wait 90 days before receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
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