A private hospital in the Capital City has started antibody cocktail therapy which is believed to provide the much needed succor to high risk Covid-19 patients.
According to sources, a 82-yer old man from Bhubaneswar with comorbidities was administered the antibody cocktail for the first time in the State.
The Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) has approved the emergency use of the Covid monoclonal antibody cocktail last month. The treatment hit headlines after it was administered to former US President Donald Trump who was infected with Covid-19 last year.
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Antibody cocktail is mainly an injection which is a combination of Casirivimav and Imdevimab and the treatment is prevalent in Europe and America.
According to health experts, the treatment helps high-risk patients before their condition worsens. It reduces the risk of progressing to severe complications and fatalities by 70 per cent and shortens the duration of symptoms by four days.
“If Covid-19 patients above 12 years of age will be administered the antibody cocktail within seven to eight days of infection, 70-80 per cent of the patients don’t have to go to the hospitals,” said a doctor adding that antibody cocktail is a kind of protein which is prepared in the laboratory to fight the Covid-19 virus.
“We are looking forward to using this treatment to benefit more Covid-19 patients in the State. We are optimistic that the availability of the treatment will help in minimising the severity of the disease and play a key role in the treatment of high risk patients,” he said.