A state program helped launch COVID-19 monoclonal antibody sites in North Idaho and East Idaho. Now, it’s Boise’s turn.
A company called Medical Directors of Idaho is now administering the treatments at 3115 Sycamore Drive in Boise, the old Good Samaritan building.
Patients must be referred by a health care provider, within 10 days of the onset of COVID-19 symptoms.
Appointments may be available as soon as the same day or next day, according to a news release Monday. The treatments are given at no cost to the patient, and health insurance isn’t required.
People age 65 and over, pregnant, overweight or who have a chronic medical condition may qualify for the treatment.
“While this treatment is not meant to replace vaccinations to prevent COVID, it has been proven as an effective treatment for COVID-infected patients to decrease hospitalization and death,” the release said.
The treatment is authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration. Clinical trials showed monoclonal antibodies could reduce hospitalizations and deaths by 70%.
“As a hospital physician, I have firsthand experience of the suffering that has occurred with the recent COVID surge causing our great state to declare Crisis Standards of Care,” Dr. Ryan Williams, the clinic’s medical director, said in the news release. “Reducing the disease burden with the number of COVID-associated hospitalizations in our community is the key to moving out of Crisis Standards of Care and will benefit our entire community” by restoring full access to health care.