AKRON, Ohio — An Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School senior is among the first people in Northeast Ohio to receive monoclonal antibody therapy for treatment of COVID-19.
Ahmad Amiri, 18, received an IV infusion of bamlanivimab, which is specifically directed against the spike protein designed to block the virus's attachment and entry into human cells.
"I am real thankful that there was a medicine for it," Amiri said.
In November, Amiri lost his sense of smell and began feeling dizzy before he was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
The teen was considered high-risk for worsening symptoms and hospitalization because he's a kidney transplant recipient. Amiri said his kidneys began failing at the age of five and he remained on dialysis until his transplant at Cleveland Clinic in 2017.
Akron Children's doctors had identified Amiri as a good candidate for the therapy should he contract the virus. Still, when the teen tested positive, he feared his condition would deteriorate before treatment.
"I was worried that I would lose my kidney again," he said.
Earlier that month, Akron Children's Hospital received about 20 doses of the antibody therapy, which received FDA emergency authorization to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 patients over the age of 12, according to Dr. Shefali Mahesh, the director on nephrology and dialysis.
"It takes an hour to infuse the medication and then we watch the patient for an hour and they go home," Mahesh said.
There has been a cautious rollout of the therapy at hospitals, including ACH because doctors have wanted to make sure it was used for the right patient at the right time.
The idea is to give the medication to patients who are at a higher risk for more severe disease in order to prevent COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Shortly after Amiri was diagnosed with the virus, hospital staff quickly mobilized to set up the infusion.
He was the first patient to receive therapy at Akron Children's Hospital. Since then, a second child has been given the treatment. Both are now doing well, Mahesh said.
Amiri felt better a few days later, regained his sense of smell, and is over the virus.
"I feel good because I didn't have any side effects so that's really big news," he said. "That means they could get a lot more medicine-- than infusion-- so it could help more people."
Mahesh believes the therapy will remain an important tool in the COVID-19 battle, especially as it relates to more compromised patients.
"I think of these, all of these advances, as a Swiss cheese effect. We're adding layers of protection," she said.
Mahesh added that the therapy, coupled with the arrival of the vaccine to Ohio, provides much-needed hope for a brighter future.
"It's also incredible being in healthcare at this time to see how quickly some of these novel therapies are going from discovery to the bedside."
