Even after she’d done everything right, Gerry Fleuriet’s immune defenses were still faltering against the COVID-19 virus.
“I found out the hard way, by accident, back in August, that even though I had my two vaccinations the antibodies were no longer present in my body. So, I had to rush that same day to get the third vaccine,” Fleuriet said Thursday afternoon from a medical office in Edinburg, where she received a new therapy, AztraZeneca’s Evusheld, long-acting monoclonal antibodies, made specifically for people like her.
Fleuriet, 78, an active member of Harlingen where she serves as a school district member, has rheumatoid arthritis, COPD and takes medication that inadvertently suppresses the immune system.
Despite every effort made by immunocompromised people like Fleuriet, they remain high-risk for contracting COVID-19.
“We spent a year and a half in quarantine, my husband and I did. Everyone protected me. I felt as if I were in a safe and loving bubble, but it was a bubble,” Fleuriet said. “I could take all the precautions in the world, but my body was working against the antibodies.”
Two days ago, after a conversation with her doctor, Fleuriet received welcome news — a new option was available and accessible.
Dr. Sohail Rao, the president and chief executive officer for DHR Health’s Institute for Research & Development, was instrumental in bringing the therapy to the region.
“It was just released last night, this particular antibody,” Dr. Rao said Thursday. “I’m so pleased that we were able to offer this to our community here in the Valley, and we are among the first in the country to offer it to our patients.”
As principal investigator, Dr. Rao oversaw a study, funded by the National Institute of Health, that was initially conducted of the same therapy in the Valley. Then, when the safety and benefits were established, the therapy was made more widely available.
Although there are other similar therapies currently offered, their benefits tend to last days. Evusheld antibodies can last for months.
Dr. Rao said their experience and proactive approach to obtain the therapy gave them an advantage.
“We had the experience on how to give this drug, how to monitor the patients, who to select, all that was already in our system. So it was just basically turning one switch off and turning the other one on,” Dr. Rao said.
Over 70 doses were obtained in the Valley, with more to come.
One dose of Evusheld, administered as two separate consecutive intramuscular injections (one injection per monoclonal antibody, given in immediate succession), according to the FDA.
People who are eligible to receive it must be immunocompromised, test negative for COVID-19 at the time of administration, be either 12 years old or weigh over 40 pounds. If an eligible participant was recently vaccinated, they can receive the therapy two weeks after the last dose. The therapy is also available to people who have a documented reason that shows a COVID-19 vaccine would have an adverse reaction to their health.
Those who are considered immunocompromised include people undergoing chemotherapy, have lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, received a transplant or are taking immunosuppressant drugs.
Evusheld is free of charge, but there is a fee for the COVID-19 test administered before the therapy.
The benefits are expected to last between six to nine months, but Dr. Rao said they’ll be checking patients’ antibodies periodically to observe how long the antibodies are present.
Fleuriet became the first one to sign up in the Valley and the first to receive the therapy.
“My expectation and hope is that I will be able now to have some protection that I would not have otherwise had,” Fleuriet said.
At least three other people received it Thursday.
Anyone interested in receiving the therapy can contact the doctor at (956) 342-4896.
