WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – As the Food and Drug Administration halts the use of two monoclonal antibody treatments, Samaritan Medical Center has had to scale back on the number of patients it’s treating.
Early this week, the FDA announced two of the three treatments used to lessen the severity of the delta variant are not effective against omicron.
As a result, Samaritan Medical Center, which administered more than 700 doses in 2021, was told any leftovers it had of the two treatments should be stored.
Since the FDA’s announcement, SMC Spokesperson Leslie DiStefano says the hospital is still administering the remaining treatment that has proven to be effective against omicron. But supply is extremely limited.
“We’ve actually only administered 21 doses to outpatients, and two to inpatients, so 23 total. We’ve utilized all the supply we’ve received. However, we’re only allocated six doses per week. It’s obviously much smaller than before,” she said.
DiStefano says the good news is there are other forms of treatment, like the COVID antiviral pills.
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