DCH Coronavirus Update 1-22-21

Outpatient Antibody Infusion Appointments Available

Many COVID-19 positive individuals have seen positive results from receiving antibody infusion. The supply has increased and DCH has moved the clinic to a larger space on the Northport Medical Center Campus to accommodate more patients. Additionally, the clinic has expanded its hours and days of operation to be able to handle more than four times the prior volume.

If you have COVID-19 and feel you are a candidate, then reach out to your doctor for a referral. Appointments are available next week.

Requirements and other details remain the same and are provided below as a reminder.

The FDA has issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the Lilly product bamlanivimab and the Regeneron product casirivimab/imdevimab for treating individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 but have mild to moderate symptoms and are at risk of progressing to severe COVID-19 or hospitalization. This treatment is only available in an outpatient setting to patients who do not require oxygen therapy due to COVID-19.

For COVID-19 positive adults, this treatment may be an option if you

• are age 65 or older
• have obesity, with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or higher
• have diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or a condition that weakens the immune system
• take medication that weakens the immune system
• are age 55 or older and have heart disease, high blood pressure, or a long-term lung disease

Testing and Confirmed Cases

To protect patient privacy, DCH has established a minimum threshold of five for reporting numbers of inpatients with laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19.

DCH Health System internal counts as of 2:36 p.m. on 1/22/21:

• 181 inpatients within the DCH system who are positive for COVID-19.
• 36 inpatients who are positive for COVID-19 are being treated in the ICU.
• 18 who are positive for COVID-19 are on ventilators.
• 9 who are positive for COVID-19 are on a BiPAP.
• 7,863 (cumulative) unique positives for COVID-19 tests including results from the ED, triage tent and inpatient. These individuals are not necessarily in the hospital.
• 34,731 (cumulative) unique negatives for COVID-19 at DCH sites.
• 9,518 (cumulative) positive COVID-19 at DCH sites. These individuals are not necessarily in the hospital.
• 62,220 (cumulative) negative tests at DCH sites.
• 2,484 inpatients (cumulative) who were positive for COVID-19 have been discharged.
• 454 inpatients (cumulative) who were positive for COVID-19 have died at DCH. This is not an indication of the cause of death, only that the individuals were positive for COVID-19 at the time of death.
• 188 Tuscaloosa County residents (cumulative) who were positive for COVID-19 have died (per the Alabama Department of Public Health).