BEAUMONT, Texas — The Southeast Texas Regional Infusion Center in Beaumont has reopened after receiving an allocation of monoclonal antibodies.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is from a February 7, 2022 newscast.)
Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick tells 12News that 144 doses of the therapy came in on Tuesday.
They are re-opening immediately and rescheduling patients for infusions
The infusion center closed Wednesday, Feb. 2 when they ran out of treatment drugs. At the time, there was a waiting list with roughly 600 people and they only had medication to treat a third of them.
They reopened Friday, Feb. 4 and temporarily closed again on Monday, Feb. 7.
They're having to prioritize treatment to those who need it most.
Priority is based on things like age, weight, underlying conditions, and whether someone is immunocompromised.
Although supply has diminished and some people are being turned away, officials say the infusion center has still had a massive impact.
"It’s tremendous,” said Todd Senters, vice president of operations at Baptist Hospitals. “I don’t know if you can put a number or a value on what this particular treatment facility has meant for this community, because of the fact that all of our medical facilities were in a true crisis."
Officials say the plan is to keep the infusion center open as long as possible, but it all comes down to the supply of medicines they get from the federal government.
COVID-19 Antibody Therapeutics in Texas:
REGN = Regeneron Cocktail (More Info)
BAM+ ETES = Bamlanivimab and Etesevimab
SOTR = Sotrovimab (More Info)
You can see which of the above treatments is available around Texas infusion centers in this interactive map here.