COVID TREATMENT: Dalton’s push to offer Regeneron to battle COVID-19

COVID TREATMENT: Dalton’s push to offer Regeneron to battle COVID-19

The City of Dalton is offering Regeneron treatment to people in the early stages of a COVID-19 infection—making it the first municipality in the State of Georgia to do so. 

Officials with the City said, “thanks to some outstanding work by City of Dalton firefighters, staff, and volunteers on an oppressively hot afternoon, the first day of the City of Dalton’s new Regeneron treatment drive-in clinic was a success on Friday. The City was able to help about 60 people receive Regeneron’s REGEN-COV monoclonal antibody treatment for early diagnosed COVID-19 cases.”

The monoclonal antibody treatment is intended for treatment of patients within approximately the first 7 days of developing illness or testing positive for COVID-19. The treatment is most effective the earlier you take it during your illness.

Regeneron currently has an emergency use authorization through the FDA. It’s been given the green light for use in adults and kids 12 and older. City officials said the drug will be administered to patients in their cars using a syringe, followed by an hour wait for observation.

• The experimental therapy was given to President Donald Trump when he contracted the coronavirus in October.
• Regeneron submitted an emergency use application that month after preclinical studies showed that the therapy, called REGN-COV2, reduced the amount of virus and associated damage in the lungs of non-human primates.
• Regeneron’s therapy is part of a class of treatments known as monoclonal antibodies, which are made to act as immune cells that scientists hope can fight infections

Mayor David Pennington visited the site Friday afternoon and praised City Councilmember Annalee Harlan’s efforts to bring the Regeneron drive-in clinic to Dalton.

“Annalee has been working for several weeks with the fire department and the health department and the state to bring this to Dalton,” Pennington said. “I think it’s a great service to the community to try to keep people from getting seriously ill and stay out of the hospital. And I also hope that people will also realize that this isn’t a substitute for being vaccinated, everyone needs to get vaccinated. “

Councilmember Annalee Harlan speaks to a reporter after performing Regeneron injections for patients

The treatment site is in the upper right hand gravel parking lot at the Dalton Convention Center at 2211 Tony Ingle Parkway. The site is fully self-contained with air conditioned restroom facilities for both patients and a separate facility for staff, so no patients are ever inside of the Convention Center building or in other areas of the campus.

Above: An air conditioned trailer on loan from the elite Georgia Smoke Divers firefighters group; an aerial view of the treatment clinic

Keep checking back to the appointment information site at this link for the latest information and to sign up online.

The City of Dalton thanks all of the personnel who stood out in oppressive summer heat in full protective gear to treat patients.