COVID-19 Treatments

The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization to a new Covid-19 treatment. American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is the lucky company. In October, the company announced a $375 million deal to sell 300,000 doses to the U.S. government. Eli Lilly was not part of Trump’s Operation WarpSpeed.

Eli Lilly calls the treatment “bamlanivimab.” Medical providers can give bamlanivimab after a positive test but within 10 days of developing symptoms. The authorization applies only to people newly infected with the virus. The agency prohibits use in hospitalized patients. However, at risk people over 65 and obese seem to benefit the most.

The treatment consists of a single powerful antibody.  The antibody stabilizes the infection. This is great news and just in time.

More than 130,500 new cases were announced in the United States on Monday, the second-highest total of the pandemic, and the sixth day in a row the country exceeded 100,000 cases in a single day. Twelve states and the territory of Guam set single-day records for new cases.

The CDC said masks not only protect the general public from COVID-19, but also protect the mask wearer. In its strongest endorsement to date about the effectiveness of masks, the CDC said “adopting universal masking policies can help avert future lockdowns, especially if combined with other non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing, hand hygiene, and adequate ventilation.”