CRAWFORD COUNTY, Ill. (WTHI) - The pandemic has been hard on front-line hospital workers. In the beginning, they fought a virus that was relatively unknown.
Dr. John Rogers with Crawford Memorial Hospital says, "We've lost a lot of people here in our county and in our community. And one of the most frustrating things about this disease is how unpredictable it is."
Treatments like the COVID-19 vaccine have now come in to help protect against the spread of the virus. Monoclonal antibody treatment hopes to help those who already have COVID-19.
Rogers explains, "Basically is reinforcements for our immune system. I guess is the way I would look at it. You know it attaches to the virus and it is designed to stop the virus."
The treatment is given to those who are home sick with COVID-19. It helps to keep the virus from spreading and damaging organs like the heart or lungs. The treatment was first made available to larger communities.
Rogers says, "Once it received authorization it took weeks for us to be able to get access to it. To be able to deliver it to our patients."
The monoclonal antibody treatment hopes to help those who are most vulnerable recover from covid-19. Paired with an ongoing vaccine rollout, folks at Crawford Memorial hope an end to the pandemic is in sight.
Rogers says, "Trying to provide the best therapies that we can to the people who are sick enough to be in the hospital to see if we can keep some of them from getting worse."
