Monoclonal Antibodies: The FDA giveth, and the HHS taketh away

In figuring out the trouble with vaccine mandates, it's worthwhile to consider the opposite yet successful treatment protocols used in India and Sweden. Both approaches by these two very different countries have proven to be effective in taming the COVID beast.

India originally prescribed hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) at the onset of the pandemic with great success. It then switched to its new and more potent COVID kit containing ivermectin to conquer the more contagious delta and subsequent variants. In so doing, India continuously maintained an insignificant daily death rate per million except for a brief increase when the delta variant first appeared. This likely indicates that India has achieved herd immunity. In contrast, Sweden appears to have achieved its herd immunity status by letting the virus run its course naturally, with minimal mandates or lockdowns. Unlike India, Sweden shunned early treatment meds, as did most Western countries, including the USA. As a result, all shared similarly high death rates initially.

However, both India and Sweden have apparently achieved herd immunity, and they got there well before the Western countries that imposed harsh lockdowns and mask mandates and placed primary emphasis on the vaccines while rejecting early treatment protocols (especially those including HCQ or ivermectin).

To simplify the differences in the outcome, the seven-day rolling average of confirmed COVID-19 deaths for India and Sweden are compared with only two representative countries (the U.S. and U.K., since both relied mostly on lockdowns, masks, and vaccine mandates). You can monitor the current death trends for these four countries here. This data source updates daily, and I just noticed that in September, Sweden posted an unexpected increase in deaths (from 0.01 per million daily in mid-August to 1.0 per million in mid-September). In comparison, India has posted a gradual decline in deaths

There are some solutions other than vaccines. The FDA recently approved some monoclonal antibody medication as an early treatment option for COVID-19 (brand name REGEN-COV). According to the FDA fact sheet, REGEN-COV requires a lengthy infusion process or an IV, which makes it more complicated and expensive to administer than either HCQ or ivermectin. Both of the latter meds are taken orally at home. If administered early, within days of infection, all these medications work similarly by preventing the virus from triggering the often fatal overreaction of the body's autoimmune system. It is this overreaction (cytokine storm) that is most responsible for causing the severe symptoms that often lead to hospitalization and death. In contrast, the virus itself usually results in mild cold or seasonal flu–type symptoms for most people having healthy immune systems. Those with a compromised immune system due to age or other co-morbidity are the most vulnerable to this dangerous cytokine storm reaction and should get higher priority for professional treatment.

These newly FDA-approved monoclonal antibodies have proven to be extremely effective in stopping the progression of the disease when administered early, prior to the onset of the cytokine storm overreaction. But instead of finding ways to increase production (or to allow the off-label use of HCQ or ivermectin), the HHS has taken control of its distribution. We know that this decision had nothing to do with the fact that about 70% of orders were from seven Southern states having conservative governors — most notably Florida and Texas. Right...it is also likely that blue states may not have been ordering it because their leadership may prefer to rely solely on the vaccines.

So, according to a doctor in Georgia, the Feds are withholding monoclonal antibody infusion meds through the HHS. HHS distributes the meds to each state, and is shorting the red states by 30%. HHS sends the states’ their allocated amount of meds, less the 30%, and the states health officers distribute to the counties. So the Feds insulate themselves and can blame the shortages on the state health officers. It’s a shell game folks.

I’m down at home with covid right now. We managed to get scrips for Ivermectin a few weeks ago. Just took my daily dose a few minutes ago. Day 5. Not feeling all that bad. I even ran a work errand to drop something off for a co-worker who’s driving into town to cover part of my job. (obviously contacted no one)

I have an appointment tomorrow for antibody treatment.

Surprisingly, they never asked my vaccine status.

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