COVID-19 Update: Optimizing COVID Treatment Delivery; and Much More

Roger Massengale, Eitan Medical, on Optimizing COVID-19 Treatment Delivery

Recently, Eitan Medical announced that MPP Infusion Centers®, a Joint Commission-accredited ambulatory infusion services provider, has broadened its use of Eitan Medical’s flagship Sapphire^TM infusion pump to administer COVID-19 monoclonal antibody infusion treatments.

Advertisement

Monoclonal antibodies have been shown to provide an effective therapeutic intervention in treating specific diseases, which is why the FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) of specific monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of COVID-19 earlier this year.

DocWire News spoke with Roger Massengale, Chief Commercial Officer Medication Delivery Solutions at Eitan, to speak more about this news and what it means on a macro level.

AHA News: What Parents Should Know About the COVID-19 Vaccine For 5- to 11-Year-Olds

A COVID-19 vaccine has finally arrived for children ages 5 to 11 – and with it, some important questions from parents.

Many are wondering about safety, said Dr. Donna Curtis, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora. Others are asking whether the coronavirus is enough of a threat to their child to require a vaccine.

Here are answers that might help.

Nearly 900,000 U.S. Kids Under 12 Have Gotten Their First COVID Shot

About 900,000 U.S. children aged 5 to 11 received their initial dose of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine during the first week of eligibility for that age group, the Biden administration said Wednesday. Not only that, nearly 700,000 more are scheduled in the coming days, health officials added.

The low-dose Pfizer vaccine for younger children was approved on Nov. 2 and the first doses were administered in some locations the next day, according to the Associated Press.

Nearly 20,000 pharmacies, clinics and doctors’ offices are giving the shots to children aged 5 to 11. About 28 million youngsters in that age group are eligible for the vaccine. Kids who get their first of two shots by the end of next week will be fully vaccinated by Christmas.

ACR: COVID-19 Vaccine Not Tied to Severe Rheumatic Disease Flares

Receipt of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine is not associated with severe disease flares in patients with rheumatic diseases, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, held virtually from Nov. 3 to 9.

Ines Colmegna, M.D., from the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, and colleagues assessed the safety and immunogenicity of the mRNA-1273 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine following a two-dose regimen in patients with rheumatic diseases. The analysis included 220 participants (131 with rheumatoid arthritis [RA], 23 with systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE], eight with other rheumatic diseases, and 58 controls).