St. Joe’s to offer antibody therapy to reduce hospitalization in ‘high-risk’ COVID-19 patients

St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton is Ontario's first hospital to launch an antibody therapy clinic aimed at reducing hospitalization among COVID-19 patients.

The outpatient clinic will begin offering monoclonal antibody therapy on Monday. The antibody is a type of protein that attaches to the spike protein of COVID-19 and stops the virus from infecting healthy cells in the body, according to a release. The therapy could prevent mild cases of COVID from becoming more severe.

The pilot is targeting COVID-19 patients 18 years and older who are at high-risk" of hospitalization. That includes patients who are immunocompromised or unvaccinated.

The pilot will inform research on the therapy's impact while freeing up hospital beds, said Dr. Zain Chagla in the release. The infectious disease specialist is running the clinic.

Located at St. Joe's Charlton campus, the clinic among the first of its kind in Canada, said St. Joe's spokesperson Maria Hayes in an email.

Previous studies have shown monoclonal antibody therapy brings hospitalization down by 71 per cent and reduces death by 70 per cent in high-risk COVID patients, the release added.

Patients need a physician referral to receive the therapy.

More to come ...

Maria Iqbal is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator covering aging. Reach her via email: miqbal@thespec.com.