‘Monoclonal antibody treatment is not a COVID vaccine substitute’

REGEN-COV monoclonal antibody treatment is not a substitute for getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and mostly applies to COVID-positive individuals who are at risk of experiencing severe COVID-19.

This was emphasized during a news briefing with the CNMI’s media partners last Wednesday, with David Fifer, group supervisor for the National Disaster Medical System, saying “there’s a particular person who’s a candidate for this treatment.”

That would be people who are COVID-positive, symptomatic, with underlying health conditions, and are at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19.

“There’s sometimes a misperception out there that you don’t have to worry about getting vaccinated because if you get sick you’ll just get the monoclonal, and that’s not really true,” said Fifer. “People really need to be vaccinated, and [REGEN-COV treatment is] sort of a backup plan if you are vaccinated and still get sick, but it’s really only for people who have things like underlying health conditions, which would put them at higher risk of a more severe illness.”

Fifer is part of a team of federal health care partners that recently arrived on Saipan to aid the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. with administering monoclonal antibody treatment and vaccination operations.

This team includes Fifer, Wisconsin-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team commander Lisa Hass-Peters, nurses, physicians, and a paramedic.

Hass-Peters said that monoclonal antibody treatment is a four-dose regimen of subcutaneous injections that can be completed simultaneously. After a brief monitoring period with no reported issues, individuals are cleared to be returned to the isolation site they came from, she said.

A subcutaneous injection is an injection into the layer of skin directly below the dermis and epidermis.

Fifer added that the shots may be administered as one shot in each arm with two shots administered on different parts of the stomach. He said the procedure is quick, the needles used are small, and that those who have received the shots “find it a lot less intense than they were anticipating.”

In the short time since his and other federal partners’ arrival on Saipan, Fifer said the team has administered 15 courses of monoclonal antibody treatment. CHCC chief executive officer Esther L. Muña said that over 130 courses in total have been administered so far.

As for stock, Muña said CHCC had under 300 courses as of Wednesday but 500 more are incoming.

Regarding the storage of REGEN-COV, Hass-Peters and Muña said that, unlike certain COVID-19 vaccines, the vials are easier to store and do not require storage at sub-zero temperatures.