St. Joseph’s Healthcare says it is the first hospital in Ontario to launch an antibody therapy clinic, aimed at reducing hospitalizations among COVID-19 patients.
Dr. Zain Chagla is running the outpatient clinic, which started offering monoclonal antibody therapy at its Charlton Avenue site on Monday.
The infectious disease specialist says the antibody attaches to the spike protein of COVID-19 and stops the virus from infecting healthy cells within the body.
“It’s about a half-hour infusion,” says Chagla, “so patients will be contacted with their appointment. If they’re eligible for the treatment they’ll be brought in, they’ll get a half-hour infusion, they’ll be monitored for an hour and then they’ll go home.
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“Our goal is to reach the most high-risk COVID-positive patients, to prevent them from getting so sick that they end up hospitalized or dying.”
Chagla adds that the treatment is “not meant for everyone.”
“It’s really, unfortunately, people who don’t have antibodies in their system. So people that haven’t been vaccinated or people that are at high risk of failure of vaccines because of their underlying medical conditions.”
Chagla says initial studies show the antibody therapy reduces hospitalization and death by about 70 per cent.
A physician referral is required for the monoclonal antibody therapy.
Eligibility for referral is testing positive for COVID-19 and being over the age of 18 and at high risk of hospitalization, such as unvaccinated or immune-compromised. Patients who have symptoms of COVID-19 are strongly encouraged to get tested.
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