NASH, Texas - Bowie County and Texarkana officials said Wednesday a new, state-provided monoclonal antibody infusion center here should relieve local hospitals overwhelmed by numerous COVID-19 patients.
Set up in a previously vacant building in a Nash industrial park, the center will provide up to 20 COVID-positive patients at a time with the antibody therapy developed by pharmaceutical company Regeneron. It is expected to be operational sometime Thursday.
"It's a ripple effect," County Judge Bobby Howell said. "If we can keep someone from having to go to the hospital, that frees up a hospital bed, that frees up nurses, and it frees it up for more seriously ill COVID patients or someone that has been injured in a car wreck, or had a heart attack or some other serious illness. So that will be a great benefit to our community."
Produced in quantity in labs, monoclonal antibodies are similar to antibodies produced naturally by the immune system to recognize and destroy the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. If taken in time, the treatment is very effective at preventing hospitalization among those infected, said Dr. Matt Young, county health authority.
"What we see is that the majority of the time, if they're given this treatment within the 10 days of their diagnosis or their symptoms, that is going to keep them out of the hospitals, keep them from taking up a hospital bed," he said.
The therapy is administered intravenously, and the entire process takes about two hours, including a one-hour waiting period after the infusion.
Patients will need a positive COVID test and a referral from a physician to be treated at the center. There will be no residency requirement, so the treatment will be available to people who live anywhere. No health care insurance will be required, and the treatment will be free of charge.
No one under 12 years of age can be treated at the center. To qualify for the treatment, patients must meet one of the following criteria:
65 years of age or older
Obesity or being overweight
Pregnancy
Chronic kidney disease
Diabetes
Immunosuppressive disease
Receiving immunosuppressive treatment
Cardiovascular disease or hypertension
Chronic lung diseases
Sickle cell disease
Neurodevelopmental disorders or other conditions that confer medical complexity
Having a medical related technological dependence
Only patients will be admitted inside, and anyone accompanying them will have to wait in the parking lot.
Bowie County, Texarkana and Nash officials, as well as local health care providers, have been working since Sept. 1 with the Texas Department of Emergency Management to acquire a designated regional infusion center here, Howell said.
"This has certainly been a very cooperative effort between the city and the county also the city of Nash," Texarkana, Texas, Mayor Bob Bruggeman said.
The state is providing everything but the location, including sufficient quantities of the drug and a staff of almost 30 health care professionals.
(The monoclonal antibody infusion center is at 401 Industrial Blvd. in Nash. Once operational beginning this afternoon, it will be open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. seven days a week. Phone: 903-716-5266 or 903-716-5267. Fax: 903-716-5264.)