BEAUMONT, Texas — Health officials are hoping that a new Beaumont infusion center will slow the surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations in Southeast Texas.
Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick is set to hold a press conference Monday, Aug 23, 2021 where the Beaumont community could learn when a new state-run infusion center will open in the city.
Leaders from around the region have spent the past week coordinating all the details. The infusion center is set to be located at 5550 Eastex Freeway and will provide infusions of a drug called Regeneron.
Once the site is up and running, anyone with a positive COVID-19 test can seek a referral from their physician or by calling a county hotline that is being established.
Currently, Southeast Texas hospitals are administering treatment to up to 30 patients per day. The new infusion center could handle 150 patients per day.
The goal of the infusion center is to quickly treat people after a positive COVID-19 test, so they do not have to be admitted into the hospital.
In Houston, health officials are using this to treat hundreds of patients a week.
“We're treating almost 700 people a week, over that in fact,” Howard Huang, doctor at Houston Methodist, said. “These are band-aids in terms of what we're doing with these therapies. We're treating several hundred people around the city, while thousands are becoming infected.”