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Highest-Risk COVID Patients Least Likely to Get Monoclonal Antibodies

People who could benefit the most from the potentially lifesaving therapy aren t receiving it

Bloomberg / Getty Images Monoclonal antibodies have been touted as a highly effective way to keep a mild to moderate case of from progressing into something more severe. But a new study shows that the people who would benefit the most from the treatment — older Americans with — have been the least likely to receive it.
Looking at data from more than 1.9 million Medicare beneficiaries who were diagnosed with COVID-19 between November 2020 and August 2021, a team of researchers found that among those who didn’t succumb to the illness or get hospitalized with it, only 7.2 percent received monoclonal antibodies. These laboratory-made molecules , which are administered intravenously, act as substitute antibodies that help to keep the virus from causing widespread harm after an infection. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine.

Medical Conditions That Increase the Risk of Severe COVID-19 br

Cancer Chronic kidney disease Chronic liver disease Chronic lung diseases Dementia and other neurological conditions Diabetes Heart conditions Weakened immune system Overweight and obesity This list is not exhaustive but includes many of the chronic conditions that affect older adults. Source: CDC What’s more, the likelihood of receiving the treatment was higher among those with fewer chronic conditions. About 23 percent of beneficiaries with zero chronic conditions took monoclonal antibodies, compared with 4.7 percent of beneficiaries with six or more conditions that put them at increased risk for COVID-19 complications. Patients receiving treatment were also less likely to be Black — a population that has been — or dually enrolled in Medicaid. The Feb. 4 in JAMA. “Monoclonal antibodies should first go to patients at the highest risk of death from COVID-19, but the opposite happened — the healthiest patients were the most likely to get treatment. Unfortunately, our federal and state system for distributing these drugs has failed our most vulnerable patients,” Michael Barnett, M.D., an assistant professor of health policy and management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a coauthor of the study, said in a statement. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. , about 80 percent of adults 65 and older have at least one chronic health condition that can worsen a coronavirus infection.​

Obstacles along path to treatment br

The study's authors point to “multiple potential explanations” for why many higher-risk patients have missed out on monoclonal antibodies, including the idea that this population may have a more difficult time navigating the treatment process. Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > “It's a very long path,” Barnett told AARP, and it’s one that starts with recognition of symptoms (the treatment needs to be started within 10 days of symptom onset), followed by access to testing to confirm the diagnosis. Not all coronavirus infections result in symptoms right away, though — show that up to 40 percent of cases come with none — and testing has fallen short of demand throughout many phases of the pandemic. Even if things go “relatively smoothly and two or three days after symptoms, someone gets a test and it's positive,” the patient still “needs to be aware enough to call their physician to just check in about whether there's anything else that can be done or what should they do,” said Barnett, who is also a primary care doctor in Boston. “And the physician needs to be aware that monoclonal antibodies are probably a good choice.” AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. and shouldn’t be used while the strain is in such high circulation. The JAMA study examined data only through August 2021, before the emergence of omicron, but “there's no reason to think things have gotten better,” Barnett said.

Have COVID Know your options

Fixing the problem by getting monoclonal antibodies to the people who need them the most isn’t going to be easy, Barnett said, “but there are a few things that can probably help.” The first, he said, is patient education. More patients should know about their options if they get COVID-19, including a . “You don’t have to be intimately familiar with whether you’re eligible or not. But you can ask your physician … ‘How can I get better?’ ” For many adults there are . Along with intravenous monoclonal antibodies, two new pills that can be taken at home, from Pfizer (Paxlovid) and Merck (molnupiravir), have been authorized to treat COVID-19 and help prevent hospitalization of high-risk adults. Similar to the monoclonal antibody therapy that works against omicron, these two treatments are also in short supply, but federal officials have announced plans to make them more readily available in the coming months. The FDA-approved antiviral remdesivir (Veklury) as well to help keep a mild to moderate case of COVID-19 from spiraling into something more serious; providers also administer this drug to patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Educating doctors on the supplies available and the population that’s eligible for them is another important point, Barnett said. So is investing in the home care workforce to “get out to people's homes to deliver these infusions, or somehow streamline the referral and transportation process to infusion centers to make sure that people can actually get there,” he said. “Because I think just this process of getting the drug into people is a definite bottleneck for people who are very sick or who started off very sick in the first place before they got COVID.” More on health AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS