A new COVID-19 treatment is starting to make its way to Indiana patients. State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box says Eli Lilly got an FDA emergency use authorization for its antibody treatment on Monday, and the first two patients were treated at a Jeffersonville hospital on Tuesday.
“Early trials show that of the individuals who received the monoclonal antibody, less than two percent of them became sick enough to require hospitalization, versus more than six percent of the placebo group,” Box explained. “The medication is given through a single intravenous infusion. Indiana’s initial allocation for this week will be 2,700 doses.”
When it comes to a vaccine, Box said Wednesday that the state is still preparing for the possibility that the first doses may arrive before the end of the month. She said that researchers have been building on work they’ve been doing for nearly a decade. “When we hear about accelerating the vaccine, what really has been accelerated is the number of people enrolled in these three phases of the vaccine trials and the manufacturing of doses occurring in concurrence with development of the vaccine,” Box said. “It often takes years to enroll thousands of people, but that process has moved very quickly as scientists work to provide a safe, effective vaccine.”
Indiana Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lindsay Weaver said Pfizer may request an emergency use authorization as soon as next week, and Moderna may have a vaccine available by the end of the year. “Regardless of when the state receives the vaccine, we will not start vaccinating until we receive the EUA and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ review for each of these,” Weaver said. “Additionally, as we’ve mentioned, our external vaccine advisory committee will also review all of this information for safety and efficacy and to determine the appropriate populations to be vaccinated with each of these vaccines.”
Weaver said that even though it’ll be months until a vaccine is widely available, starting with frontline health care workers and those at highest risk should help reduce the burden of COVID-19. Dr. Box stressed that COVID-19 vaccines will be allocated to states based on population, not case counts.
