Wednesday, September 1, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
9
Sisters woman experienced new COVID-19 therapy
When Marilyn Cornelius
woke up with heavy sinus
congestion last month, she
wasn9t too concerned. Sisters
had been extremely smoky,
and this was a common
response for her. But then
another symptom reared its
ugly head:
<As the day progressed,
the sudden and severe loss of
taste and smell triggered me
to go get tested,= she recalled.
St. Charles Health System
had just set up a drive-through
testing site, and Cornelius
waited for an hour in her
car, with hundreds of others,
to find out whether the delta
variant had caught her.
It had. Hours later, her test
result posted on St. Charles9
My Chart indicating that she
was COVID-positive. She
qualifies as a <breakthrough=
case 4 a person who gets
COVID-19 despite being
fully vaccinated.
<I was fully vaccinated by
February, which gives credit
to the belief of the vaccine
waning,= she said.
Cornelius returned home
to isolate in her room and to
weather the coming storm.
She started looking into
the best means to beat back
symptoms and recover as
quickly as possible. Posted on
her chart was a key to facing
down the delta variant: mono-
clonal antibody therapy.
St. Charles Health System
had just begun offering a
treatment to help people with
mild to moderate COVID-
19 fight off the disease
and 4 hopefully 4 avoid
hospitalization.
<I would not have known
about that if Dr. Carey Allen
had not put it on my chart,=
Cornelius said. <I started
researching that, and got hold
of my primary care doctor
immediately.=
The treatment uses mono-
clonal antibodies to mimic
the immune system9s natural
antibodies, which fight back
against harmful antigens
such as viruses. The body
takes time to produce natural
antibodies; monoclonal anti-
body therapy allows a sick
person to fight the virus ear-
lier, which may prevent them
from getting sicker and need-
ing to be hospitalized.
Currently, monoclonal
antibody therapy is only
available to people who are
at high risk of becoming
severely ill from COVID-
19, and they cannot self-refer
themselves for the treatment.
A physician must make the
referral.
Cornelius qualified for the
treatment because she had
mild to moderate symptoms
and an underlying autoim-
mune disorder that put her
at risk of developing more
severe symptoms. Her doctor
agreed immediately that the
treatment was an appropriate
option and got her into the
process to get scheduled for
treatment.
She said she had <one bad
night= between diagnosis
and treatment, with aches,
shortness of breath, and a
high heart rate as her body
engaged in the battle with the
virus. The experience made
her acutely aware of one of
the most alarming aspects of
COVID-19: A person with
mild to moderate symptoms
can take a sudden and danger-
ous turn for the worse.
<That9s what9s so scary
about it,= Cornelius said.
<You do not know. You can
think 8I9ve got this beat,9 and
you go around the corner and
get hit upside the head and
end up in the ER, intubated.=
Knowing that the vac-
cine offered some protection
against development of severe
symptoms was reassuring.
<I knew I was going to be
OK, because I9d been vacci-
nated, and I knew this treat-
ment was on the horizon for
me,= she said.
Treatment is ideally
administered within three
days of a positive COVID-
19 test or within 10 days of
symptom onset.
It9s a bit of a process to
make it happen, and the pro-
cedure itself takes some time.
<I was there at 5 o9clock,
and I got in my car at a quar-
ter to 8,= Cornelius recalled.
<I felt pretty wiped out that
night.=
The potential benefits of
the treatment are well worth
navigating the logistical
challenges, said Dr. Cynthia
Maree, St. Charles9 medical
director of infectious disease.
<Right now, this is the
only medication we have that
is approved under Emergency
Use Authorization to be used
for outpatient management
of COVID-19,= she said. <It
has the possibility of keeping
people with COVID-19 from
developing severe disease or
from dying. Obviously, that9s
something we want to be able
to provide to the community.=
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Her family is fully vac-
cinated, and, according to a
report by Bloomberg, recent
data shows that the treatment
reduces household transmis-
sibility by over 80 percent.
Her husband tested negative
for COVID.
Cornelius advises people
to take measures to protect
themselves.
<First of all, I9d get the
vaccine,= she said.
And, she says, those who
test positive should at least
look into the treatment 4
don9t simply assume you
won9t qualify.
<Go to your primary and
say, 8Can I get the monoclo-
nal antibody treatment?9=
Editor9s note: Marilyn
Cornelius is the wife of
Nugget Editor in Chief Jim
Cornelius.
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have received Monoclonal
Antibody Therapy as of press
time.
Cornelius can attest to the
treatment9s effectiveness. She
reported that her congestion
symptoms cleared within two
days of treatment, and even
the loss of taste and smell 4
which can linger for weeks 4
has abated.
<I would say 50 percent
within three days of the treat-
ment; 70 percent within a
week,= she said.
Interviewed four days
after her quarantine period,
she said she feels <absolutely
fine.=
Asked whether she had
any hesitation in undergoing a
new treatment, she said, <No,
not at all 4 because I wanted
to protect my family and my
community.=
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