Update: Could Urgent Care Offer Another Mode of Preventing COVID-19 Spread?

The excitement and optimism that erupt with every approval of a COVID-19 vaccine are tempered by the problematic system of distributing and administering those vaccines. The public is further frustrated and fearful that there is no “cure” for the virus. A new method of inhibiting symptoms and preventing spread within members of the same household may be on the horizon, however, according to a report presented recently at the (virtual) annual meeting of the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. The data indicate that a one-time injection of a monoclonal antibody cocktail of casirivimab with imdevimab given within 96 hours of a household member testing positive for COVID-19 prevented 100% of COVID-19 illness among other household members. On the heels of a report last week that efficacy and safety studies of an antiviral treatment called molnupiravir are underway, there’s hope that even patients who are diagnosed with COVID-19 may experience better outcomes than were seen too often at the height of the pandemic in the U.S.—and that urgent care centers could play an essential role in lowering risk across the population.