SANGER, CA – Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) issued the following statement urging Governor Gavin Newsom to change California’s COVID-19 strategy to include increased access to monoclonal antibody treatment:

“We are nearly a year into this pandemic and it has been one crisis after another. Vaccine approval and distribution has brought hope to our communities, but we need to be realistic about the current movement. We are facing a surge, and vaccine distribution has been slow to say the least.  In order to save lives and prevent hospitalizations, we need to make monoclonal antibody treatment available today. We need to consider having mobile clinics to provide equitable access to our most vulnerable populations.”

Monoclonal antibody treatment is for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have mild to moderate symptoms, but are at a high risk for hospitalization.

In November, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use approval for the monoclonal antibody drug “bamlanivimab” for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adult and youth patients. The treatment, according to the FDA, reduced COVID-19 hospitalizations and emergency room visits in clinical trials. It was most notably used by President Donald Trump as he recovered from COVID-19 last year.

The drug may only be administered where health care providers have immediate access to medications to treat a severe infusion reaction and the ability to activate the emergency medical system (EMS), as necessary. An infusion of bamlanivimab takes an hour to administer and medical professionals must monitor and observe patients for an hour after the patient receives treatment.

About Senator Melissa Hurtado

Senator Melissa Hurtado is an advocate for expanding access to health care and clean water, growing educational opportunities and creating more quality jobs. She represents the 14th Senate District in California, which includes cities in Fresno, Kern, Kings and Tulare counties. Senator Hurtado was born in Fresno, California and was raised in the City of Sanger, where she still resides with her family.

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