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Feds reach out to local doctor who saved nursing home residents with antibody infusions

Post-Star - 2/11/2021

Feb. 11—The federal government is turning to a local physician for advice on the pandemic.

Officials want to talk with Dr. Philip Gara, who spearheaded the effort to provide monoclonal antibody infusions to residents who caught coronavirus at Fort Hudson last month. The outbreak at the nursing home in Fort Edward occurred just days after the residents received the first dose of the vaccine, too early for the vaccine to help them. But with infusions, Gara was able to save all of their lives.

On Thursday, he and others with similar experiences will be speaking virtually with officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The meeting will focus on experiences in the community with monoclonal antibodies.

"The goal, I believe, will be to see what barriers there are to increased use," he said in an email.

It wasn't easy for Gara to get the infusions last month. Preliminary research indicates the antibodies work well when given to high-risk people immediately after they get infected. That's hard to manage in most places because people often do not get tested until days after developing symptoms and have to wait more days to get the results of their test.

But in nursing homes, where everyone is high-risk, residents are tested regularly, especially during an outbreak.

Once Gara knew he had an outbreak on his hands, it still wasn't simple to get the residents infused. He needed IV pumps — which are supposed to be quarantined after each use with a COVID-positive patient, even if the next patient also has the virus — and he needed to create a sterile room in which to set up the pumps. All that was better than the alternative, though. Saratoga Hospital sent workers to the nursing home to hand-deliver the infusion vials so that he would not have to transport multiple sick, elderly people to the hospital.

Gara also participated in a White House call Sunday about new research regarding the virus.

He's not sure how much he can offer to the overall conversation, particularly about new research, but he's glad to be a part of it.

"It is exciting because this sharing of info will help push the ball forward faster," he said.

He learned about the monoclonal antibodies by following the research as studies were published. That's why he knew that researchers believed they needed to be infused immediately. He spent an urgent Saturday at Fort Hudson, waiting for a delivery of antibodies and then setting up the infusions because he knew time was of the essence.

You can reach Kathleen Moore at 742-3247 or kmoore@poststar.com. Follow her on Twitter @ByKathleenMoore or at her blog on www.poststar.com.

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