The Ministry of Public Health has found long-acting antibody treatment (LAAB) to be effective in preventing severe outcomes and deaths after a COVID-19 infection, according to a study.
Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong, Permanent Secretary of Public Health, revealed the treatment is found to be 50-57% effective in preventing severe complications and deaths in COVID-19 patients when administered 5-7 days after symptom onset. The effectiveness of this treatment will be much better at 88% when administered within 3 days after symptom onset.
These effectiveness numbers are from the outcomes of a study, where a 600-milligram injection of LAAB was administered to each of some 6,300 COVID-19 patients who had underlying health concerns but exhibited mild symptoms.
The health ministry is expected to soon issue an official guideline that recommends LAAB as a treatment option for patients with mild to moderate symptoms.
Health authorities have also adjusted the distribution schedule for COVID-19 vaccines and LAAB doses to hospitals, after the reclassification of COVID-19 into a communicable disease under surveillance.
The Department of Disease Control (DDC) will now be surveying the demands for vaccines and antibody treatment on the 20th day of each month, with normal delivery scheduled to take place on the last day of the following month.
Provinces will now need to keep storing unexpired vaccines and antibody treatments aged more than two months, as the next round of vaccine procurement, which is no longer covered under emergency protocols, is expected to go through more lengthy procurement procedures.
Provincial public health offices will have an option to urgently request vaccines and antibody treatment, by placing a specific order to the DDC or using the remaining doses available in their area. Provincial offices will need to collect their requested doses directly from the DDC’s main inventory. (NNT)
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