Photos courtesy of Avera Marshall An IV infusion of monoclonal antibodies — lab-grown proteins that can help boost immune response — can help keep people with COVID-19 from developing more severe symptoms. Monoclonal antibody treatments are currently available for high-risk patients through the Avera Marshall infusion center.

MARSHALL — The COVID-19 vaccine is currently getting a lot of public attention — but for people who have already tested positive for COVID-19, it’s important to remember there are also treatments available that can help, local health care providers said.

Treatments like monoclonal antibodies can help prevent a COVID-positive patient from becoming seriously ill, said Craig Maki, PA-C in family medicine at Avera Marshall. Monoclonal antibody infusions are available at Avera Marshall Medical Center, and Maki said people in a range of high-risk groups may be eligible to receive a treatment.

“Most people are a little bit surprised,” to learn they might be eligible, Maki said. There are a lot of factors that can make a person a high-risk COVID patient, including age and chronic conditions like diabetes or cardiopulmonary disease.

Monoclonal antibody treatments are currently available at the infusion center at Avera Marshall, said Jess Moriarty, a CNP and the manager of the infusion center.

Our bodies naturally produce antibodies, which are proteins that help fight viruses like the one that causes COVID-19. Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that act a lot like our natural antibodies, the Minnesota Department of Health says.

When the monoclonal antibodies are infused into a person’s body, it helps support their immune response against the COVID-19 virus, and can help keep them from having a more severe illness, Moriarty said.

“It’s really to prevent you from getting so much worse,” she said.

Patients who get the treatment at Avera Marshall sit in a chair and receive an IV infusion of the monoclonal antibodies, Moriarty explained. The whole process takes about an hour, and then patients stay another hour for observation, to make sure they don’t have any allergic or other reactions to the treatment. However, in more than 100 infusions given at Avera Marshall, Moriarty said she’s yet to see a patient react badly to the treatment.

People who are in groups at a higher risk of developing severe COVID symptoms may be eligible to get monoclonal antibody treatments.

More people are potentially at a high risk for developing severe COVID-19 than we might think, Maki and Moriarty said. Maki said the list of high-risk COVID patients includes adults with a body mass index of 35 or higher; people who have chronic kidney disease, diabetes or suppressed immune systems; people who are 65 or older; and people who are 55 or older and have high blood pressure or heart disease.

Even some high-risk children are eligible to receive monoclonal antibody treatment, Maki said. Kids ages 12 to 17, who have a high BMI or conditions including cerebral palsy or asthma that requires daily medication, can also receive monoclonal antibodies.

The important thing to remember, however, is that monoclonal antibody treatment needs to be administered soon after a person starts having COVID-19 symptoms. Maki said there’s a 10-day window where the treatment can be given. So if you’re feeling sick, it’s important to get tested for COVID-19.

“Don’t wait around. Don’t try to tough it out,” Maki said. If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they should ask their health care provider if they might be eligible for monoclonal antibody treatment, or contact the Avera Marshall clinic.

Maki and Moriarty said people should get tested for COVID-19 as soon as they have symptoms. If you’ve been exposed to a person who is COVID-positive, but you don’t have symptoms, you should wait until about five days after exposure to be tested, they said.