KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri of Department of Health and Senior Services has contracted with a Galveston, Texas, company to provide antibody treatments for COVID-19 in multiple Missouri counties, including Jackson County.
SLSCO, the Galveston company, will provide monoclonal antibody infusion treatments at sites in the counties of Jackson, Pettis, Scott, Butler and Jefferson for 30 days, according to a news release from the office of Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.
The infusions started Wednesday at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri, and the other sites will be implemented soon.
These infusion sites are part of Parson's announcement on Aug. 11 that $15 million had been allocated to go to antibody infusion centers and additional staff for critical access and acute-care licensed hospitals.
These sites are expected to treat up to 4,000 patients statewide in the 30-day timeframe, according to the release.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, monoclonal antibodies can be used to treat early diagnosed cases of COVID-19 in high-risk patients to prevent severe disease or hospitalization. These antibodies attack the virus by mimicking the immune system's response fighting of harmful viruses like COVID-19.
Also, DHSS on Tuesday issued a standing order that authorized health care providers to administer REGEN-COV, a monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19, to high-risk adults and children who have mild or moderate cases of COVID-19 to prevent severe symptoms or hospitalization.
"As the Delta variant continues to spread across the state and pose serious health risks to unvaccinated Missourians, our state teams are continuing to do everything possible to provide support and save lives," Parson said in the release. "It is our hope that these infusion centers will help relieve hospital strain and health care worker fatigue as we move forward with our efforts to get more Missourians vaccinated."
