Press release from Mercy Urgent Care:
Mercy Urgent Care is pleased to announce it now offers monoclonal antibody infusion to high-risk patients with COVID-19. The infusions will be administered at the Mercy Urgent Care West Asheville location, 1201 Patton Avenue, beginning Monday, May 3.
Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off harmful pathogens such as viruses. It’s used to treat mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19 in non-hospitalized people who are at high risk for developing severe COVID-19 symptoms or the need for hospitalization. It is used for high-risk patients ages 12 and up, but Mercy Urgent Care will only provide infusions to ages 18 and older at this time.
High risk is defined as those with one or more of the following conditions or characteristics: individuals age 65 or older; those with a body mass index of 35 or over; adults 18 and older diagnosed with a chronic kidney disease, diabetes or an immunosuppressive disease; those currently receiving immunosuppressive treatment; and individuals age 55 or older who have been diagnosed with one or more of the following: a cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and/or COPD, emphysema and other lung diseases.
Mercy Urgent Care is one of few providers in Western North Carolina who are currently providing monoclonal antibody infusions. Patients may request or receive a referral for the treatment, to be administered at Mercy Urgent Care West Asheville, from their regular health care providers. Patients will then be contacted to screen for and schedule the infusion, which is covered by insurance. The infusion is administered via IV therapy and takes 21 minutes, followed by an hour of observation. Patients will be brought into the clinic through a separate entrance and kept in an area designated for infusions away from the rest of the clinic’s urgent care services.
The United States FDA has made monoclonal antibody infusions available under an emergency access mechanism called an emergency use authorization (EUA). The EUA is supported by a Secretary of Health and Human Service (HHS) declaration that circumstances exist to justify the emergency use of drugs and biological products during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Infusions will take place during normal business hours at Mercy Urgent Care West Asheville, 1201 Patton Avenue, on an as-needed basis. More information about monoclonal antibody infusions, as well as the treatment request form for providers, can be found at https://mercyurgentcare.org/monoclonal-antibody-infusion/.
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