In letter to president, Congressman Cohen suggests changes to guidelines for antibody treatment so unvaccinated aren’t prioritized over vaccinated

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - In a letter to the president, Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen suggests there needs to be more incentive to get vaccinated and prioritizing unvaccinated people for monoclonal antibody treatment is just the opposite.

“People who have ignored countless calls to receive an FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine should not be prioritized over other people who received the vaccine in their best effort to protect themselves, their families, and their community,” Cohen said.

In the letter, Cohen urges the president to make the antibody treatment more readily available for patients. He says people with underlying health conditions are more likely to suffer severe illness or death from COVID-19.

Cohen suggests that vaccinated people have done their due diligence to protect themselves and shouldn’t be denied the highly effective treatment just because they’re vaccinated.

“People who have these comorbidities and received the vaccine should not lose out on receiving monoclonal antibodies to people who actively chose not to get vaccinated at any point during the past 10 months, especially with vaccines so readily available,” Cohen said.

Cohen says the NIH’s website reports as of Sept. 3 there are no known shortages of monoclonal antibodies and that this treatment is the most effective in limiting serious effects of the virus.

Cohen says Tennessee leads in the number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people and then suggests Tennessee might not have enough doses of the antibody treatment for everyone who would benefit from it. He also says that state officials do not know what the quantity of doses would be week-to-week.

In the letter, Cohen asks that NIH provide guidelines to states regarding the distribution of antibody treatments based on population and prevalence of COVID-19 cases.

Read the congressman’s letter here.

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