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Louisiana has a limited supply of sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody treatment that shows effectiveness with Omicron

BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Department of Health is pausing administration of monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatments at LDH-run mAb treatment sites in response to a federal decision to cease state allocations.

LDH sites previously offered two mAb treatments: REGEN-COV and bamlanivimab and etesevimab administered together. However, recent data demonstrate that these two monoclonal antibodies are not effective against the Omicron variant, which is now the dominant variant circulating in the U.S.

As a result, the federal government paused further allocations of these monoclonal antibodies pending updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Louisiana has received a very limited supply — 228 doses — of another monoclonal antibody treatment, sotrovimab, which appears to remain effective against the Omicron variant for prevention of severe disease. Additional allocations of sotrovimab are expected in January.

Limited doses of sotrovimab have been distributed to the following select hospitals across the state. However, the treatment will be in scarce supply until new deliveries arrive. As supply becomes more widely available, LDH will be ready to reopen sites when there a sufficient allocation for hospitals and community sites.

The following hospitals are expected to receive shipments of sotrovima:

North Oaks Medical Center, 15790 Paul Vega MD Drive, Hammond

Ochsner Medical Center, 1514 Jefferson Drive, New Orleans

Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, 5000 Hennessy Blvd., Baton Rouge

St. Francis Medical Center, 309 Jackson St., Monroe

University Medical Center, 2000 Canal St., New Orleans

Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, 1701 Oak Park Blvd., Lake Charles

Monoclonal antibody treatments are a pharmaceutical intervention used to treat people who are infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Monoclonal antibody treatment can prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death in high-risk patients.

Those with questions about whether monoclonal antibodies are an appropriate treatment for them should contact their provider. Those experiencing symptoms but do not have a provider can call the Combat COVID Monoclonal Antibodies Call Center at 1-877-332-6585.

COVID-19 cases are sharply increasing in Louisiana as Omicron continues to spread. LDH has shared updated guidance on staying safe this holiday season that you can find here. In short, the important thing to remember is that we have more tools to slow the spread of COVID-19 than we did at this time last year. We know layered prevention strategies can slow the spread of COVID-19:

Get vaccinated

If eligible, get boosted

Wear masks in public indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status

Regardless of vaccination status, get tested before and after traveling and prior to gathering with others over the holidays

Stay home if you are not feeling well

Wash your hands frequently and well

If you have questions about vaccines, you can speak to a medical professional and learn about vaccination sites near you by calling Louisiana’s vaccine hotline at 855-453-0774. For a list of locations near you, visit https://ldh.la.gov/covidvaccine or text your ZIP code to GETVAX (438829) in English or VACUNA (822862) in Spanish.

About the Louisiana Department of Health

The Louisiana Department of Health strives to protect and promote health statewide and to ensure access to medical, preventive and rehabilitative services for all state residents. The Louisiana Department of Health includes the Office of Public Health, Office of Aging & Adult Services, Office of Behavioral Health, Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities, and Healthy Louisiana (Medicaid). To learn more, visit www.ldh.la.gov or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or our blog.