The U.S. Is in a Precarious Place with COVID-19. It’s Time for Urgent Care to Step In

COVID-19 vaccinations are being administered at a good clip in most states—with many governors reacting by easing restrictions on social gatherings. Unfortunately, those events coincide with more than half the country seeing record rates of infection. One new development that could be cause for optimism (for the health of the country and the future of urgent care) is the realization that monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) seem to mitigate the effects of SARS-CoV-2. In fact, the Department of Health and Human Services has taken the extraordinary step of requesting that urgent care centers not only provide COVID-19 testing, but immediately refer patients who test positive for the virus so they can start mAb infusion. Even better, more than 150 urgent care centers are serving as infusions center. As such, patients can start treatment immediately and there’s no need for the urgent care center to watch a patient walk out the door to receive care somewhere else. Urgent care operators who would like to ensure their location is identified as a potential infusion center for mAbs should click here. In the meantime, be sure to read a new original article, Outpatient Management of COVID-19 in the Urgent Care Clinic: Administering Monoclonal Antibodies, in the May issue of JUCM.