When Terry Pea woke up last Wednesday with a headache and neck muscles, a competitive weightlifter was pushing him to a harder workout.
By that evening, he had a fever of 101 degrees and was in clear illness. “I felt like I was hit by a truck,” said Pea, who lives near Seattle.
The very next day he was diagnosed with Covid-19. As of Saturday, the anti-58-year-old had been admitted to a clinical trial for the same antibody cocktail that President Donald Trump claimed was responsible for his coronavirus “cure”.
“I heard a little bit about him because of this news,” said Mutter, who was involved in a study by drugmaker Regeneran. “I wonder if the combination of his two man-made antibodies could neutralize the deadly virus.” They will probably treat him with everything they have. “
Mutter learned about the study from his sister-in-law, who works at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, one of dozens of trial sites across the country. They are among the thousands of Americans – including the President – who have taken the opportunity to experiment with COVID-19 treatment or prevention.
But, the U.S. With nearly one million people infected with coronavirus and more than 217,000 dying thanks to covid, many patients are unaware of such options or are unable to access them. Beware of undisclosed therapies that may include drugs ranging from other drugs to vaccines.
“Honestly, I don’t know if I would have gotten the call if no one had known,” said Matter, a retired executive with Boeing Co. ‘
Websites tracking such research are Clinict.L.O.O.V., COVID-19 or SARS-CoV. More than 3,600 studies, including 2, report that the cause of the disease is a virus. More than 430,000 people have volunteered for such a study through the COVID-19 Prevention Network. Thousands more have received treatment under the federal emergency rights, such as the antiviral drug rimadesivir.
Faced with a terrible covid diagnosis, patients or their families know how they can treat this – or – aggressively find such a treatment. Conversely, if they are offered fur how will they decide whether to reject them?
Antet Totten, an associate professor of medical informatics and clinical epidemiology at Reagan Health and Science University, said such medical decisions are never easy – and they are harder during an epidemic.
“The challenge is that the evidence isn’t good because everything with Covid is new,” said Totten, who told medical decision-making experts. “I think it’s hard to cut all the noise.”
Sometimes you have to be prepared to be a little pushing.
Consumers have been sensibly whipped by conflicting information about the potential COVID treatment of political leaders and the scientific community, including Trump. The antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine, requested by the president, received emergency clearance from the Federal Food and Drug Administration, but the decision was overturned several weeks later amid concerns that it could cause harm.
Convective plasma, which uses blood products derived from COVID-19 to treat those who are still ill, was given to more than 100,000 patients in an extended-access access program and made widely available through other emergency authorizations – although Its benefits are unclear to scientists.
Although both Regeneron and pharmaceutical firm Ally Lilly & Co. have requested emergency authorization for the use of their monoclonal antibody therapy, scientists say such approval could jeopardize enrollment in randomized controlled trials to prove how well they operate. . About 2,500 people have so far enrolled in Regeneron trials, of which about 2,000 are receiving treatment, a company spokesman said. Others have received treatment through so-called compassionate use programs, although the company does not say how much.
This week, even after safety concerns were raised by an independent monitoring board, national health organizations suspended the green antibody trial.
The general internist and health policy researcher at the Harvard Medical School portal program, Dr. “Around all the information in the media, it’s hard for patients to make good decisions – and it’s hard for doctors to make that decision,” said Benjamin Rome. “You shouldn’t expect that what you’ve heard on the news is the right treatment for you.”
Still, people facing COVID are not afraid to question whether treatment options are available, Rome said. “As a doctor, I never mind when patients ask,” he said.
Tot advised that patients and families should understand what the effect of that treatment might be. Early Phase 1 clinical trials largely focus on safety, while larger Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials determine effectiveness. Any experimental treatment increases the likelihood of serious side effects.
Ideally, health care providers would provide such information about unsafe treatments and risks. But during epidemics, especially in high-stress environments, they probably won’t, Totten noted.
“It’s important to be insistent,” he said. “If you ask a question, you have to ask it again. Sometimes you have to be prepared to be a little bit pushy, ”she said.
Patients and families should take note or record the conversation for later review. They should be asked about financial returns for participation. Many patients with COVID-19 trials are paid a modest amount for their time and travel.
Angie Fagerlin, a professor at the University of Utah and chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences, said they should think about how any treatment fits into their larger set of values and goals.
“What are the pros and cons?” Said Fagerel. “Where will be the regret of your decision: do nothing and get sick? Or doing something and really having a negative reaction? “
One consideration, she said, can benefit not only oneself, but the wider society. For Mutter, helping advance science was a big reason he agreed to enroll in a regression trial.
“The main thing that got me interested in it was the therapeutic people moving forward, they need people,” he said. “At a time when we can’t control it, that would be a way to come up with some kind of compromise.”
This decision led him to Fred Hutch, who is collaborating on two regenerative trials, one for the prevention of Covid-19 and one for the treatment of the disease.
“It was a six-hour visit,” he said. “It’s been two hours since the pouring operation. It is a very slow IV drip. “
Mutter Fred Hutch was the second person to be heard at the treatment hearing, said co-principal Dr. Said Shelley Karuna. The study tested high and low doses of monoclonal antibody cocktails against placebo.
“I am haunted by the proud philanthropy of the people we are screening,” he said.
Mutter is not sure how he contracted the COVID-19. He and his family cared a lot about masks and social distance – and criticized others who weren’t.
Mutter, whose wife, Gina Mutter, is also ill, Mutter said, “The trend now is that we’re sick.”
Mutter knows he has a 1-in-3 chance that he got a placebo instead of two active treatment doses, but he says he’s willing to take the chance. His wife was not registered in the trial.
“It simply came to our notice then. We’re taking one for the team here. I don’t think we both need to do that, “he said.
So far, Mutter has struggled with constant coughing and delayed fatigue. He can’t tell if his motivation has been helpful, no matter if it’s a remedy.
“I have no way of telling if I got antibodies,” he said. “Can I get them and save me from disaster, or have I got a placebo and my own immune system has done its job?”
