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Beware Investigational Monoclonal Antibodies for COVID — Not all the Same, MAJOR Side Effects
Real science is never settled, and anyone who has certainty on such things is not qualified to discuss it.
See my prior post: COVID in the Family, One More of Us
The cure can be worse than the disease.
My brother acquired a fairly bad case of COVID recently, and though not one requiring hospitalization, he was given monoclonal antibodies.
Only today did we learn that his week of suffering was not due to COVID, but from severe side effects of the monoclonal antibody treatment he was given. That’s what his doctor concluded, though of course there was surely some compounding/mix of symptoms. He suffered horribly for 5 days, only finally getting improvement today, and finally able to eat and ambulate again.
Did the treatment help him, or were the side effects worse than the disease? We have no way of knowing for sure. Nor do we know if this product was chosen for profit, for lack of availability of Regeneron, or exactly what the motivation was. It took 5 days for him to find out what he had been given. Do they just do whatever the fuck they want now?
Monoclonal antibody treatments
Warning; one of the disqualifiers for monoclonal antibody treatments is hospitalization. Get the treatment before hospitalization, or you will find it denied.
Monoclonal antibodies are not authorized for use in patients who:
- Are hospitalized due to COVID-19
- Require oxygen therapy due to COVID-19
- Require more oxygen that they normally would due to COVID-19 and those on chronic oxygen therapy due to an underlying non-COVID-19 related condition
- Are between the ages of 12-17 and weigh less than 88 pounds
- Are under age 12
There are three monoclonal antibody treatments in use. Of these, I have so far heard good things only about the Regeneron one, but that’s only an impression. Still, I would insist upon the Regeneron product. Or you can be a guinea pig like my brother and get hammered and maybe die.
There is a 4th monoclonal antibody treatment from a small startup that is claimed to not work at all, and YouTube banned the company's video just recently under government pressure. Makes me wonder if that company just didn’t have the “pull” with the FDA that the Big Pharma companies do, that is, the Eli Lily product might be dangerous garbage for all I know, but Eli Lilly surely has ample resources and many friends at the FDA.
My brother was given the Eli Lily product (Bamlanivimab + Etesevimab). Given his experience, I’d be scared to death of it, and I’d insist on the Regeneron product. But very sick patients are hardly in a position to know this, and might not have any choice. And I cannot rule out his experience as more than just bad luck. But it makes me leery of the Eli Lily offering.
What mAb products are currently available?
Bamlanivimab + Etesevimab:
- Manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company
- Authorized for emergency use on Feb. 9, 2021
- Fact sheet for patients and caregivers: English / Spanish
Casirivimab + Imdevimab:
- Manufactured by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Authorized for emergency use on Nov. 21, 2020
- Fact sheet for patients and caregivers: English / Spanish
Sotrovimab:
The fact sheet makes it plain that these treatments are rife with serious and poorly-understood risks, and that they are testing things by seeing what Bad Stuff happens.
My brother did not sign up for a clinical trial, but that is pretty much what is de facto going on—an experiment, but with no patient knowledge of the risks—he did not know what he had been given until 5 days later. I wonder if his case will ever be reported to VAERS or even be a data point in the safety of the treatment.
Fact Sheet for Patients, Parents and Caregivers Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of Eli Lily Bamlanivimab and Etesevimab for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Dec 1 2021 version
Bamlanivimab and etesevimab are investigational medicines used together in adults and children who are at high risk for developing severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death...
Bamlanivimab and etesevimab are investigational because they are still being studied. There is limited information known about the safety or effectiveness of using bamlanivimab and etesevimab to treatment or prevention of COVID-19...
What are the important possible side effects of bamlanivimab and etesevimab?
Possible side effects of bamlanivimab and etesevimab are:
• Allergic reactions...
• Worsening of COVID-19 symptoms after bamlanivimab and etesevimab therapy for active infection: You or your child may experience new or worsening symptoms after infusion for mild to moderate COVID-19, including fever, difficulty breathing, rapid or slow heart rate, tiredness, weakness or confusion. If these occur, contact your or your child’s healthcare provider or seek immediate medical attention as some of these events have required hospitalization. It is unknown if these events are related to treatment or are due to the progression of COVID-19.
...These are not all the possible side effects of bamlanivimab and etesevimab. Not a lot of people have been given bamlanivimab and etesevimab. Serious and unexpected side effects may happen. Bamlanivimab and etesevimab are still being studied so it is possible that all of the risks are not known at this time.
It is possible that bamlanivimab and etesevimab could interfere with your or your child’s body's own ability to fight off a future infection of SARS-CoV-2. Similarly, bamlanivimab and etesevimab may reduce the body’s immune response to a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2. Specific studies have not been conducted to address these possible risks.
...
WIND: my brother experienced nearly all of the side effects: “fever, difficulty breathing, rapid heart rate, tiredness...”
