COVID, cancer, monoclonal antibodies helping?

I couldn’t find a post on this, but just in case anyone gets in this position I figured I’d mention about monoclonal antibodies for immunocompromised people with COVID, which may help reduce the severity of the disease.  They basically are synthetic antibodies that stop the virus from replicating.  They are only offered to high risk patients, which every person with active cancer would be.  This is slightly different from convalescent plasma.  Disclaimer- as with everything else, this is not professional or personal medical advice, talk to your oncologist or primary care doctor if you consider this.  they have to refer you anyway.  Here is the info from the CDC https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-monoclonal-antibodies-treatment-covid-19.  The monoclonal antibodies work best when given early, and may cause harm if given too late.  So its important if you are diagnosed to ask about them early.  I hear they work best before 5 days of symptoms starting, but are being given to patients up to 10 days from start of symptoms.  Patients start feeling better within 48 hours after the infusion. You can get the infusion even if you received the vaccine (but cant get vaccinated for 90 days after receiving the antibodies).

Personal anecdote:

If you are still immunocompromised, even with getting the vaccine you may still be at risk of catching COVID.  Kathy did despite both of us being vaccinated and extremely careful with exposures- her only unmasked exposure was for an MRI at mskcc.  Monday (5 days ago) she had fevers and a cough so we went to urgent care where she was diagnosed with covid.  Tues- Wed her cough started getting more frequent and sounding worse.  Thankfully her oncologist agreed to our suggestion for the antibodies and she was referred to our local hospital which offers this treatment (as far as I know sloan itself doesnt). He just had to write an email to the hospital offering the infusion.  By Thursday morning she was getting infused.  It’s a one hour infusion plus one hour of observation.  Friday (yesterday) her cough became noticeably better- less harsh sounding and less frequent.  She has a worse runny nose, and still had fevers, but she feels a lot better today (Saturday, ~44 hours from infusion).  Her breathing has improved.  While I know vaccinations also help with the severity of the disease (to date I dont think any vaccinated person in the US has been hospitalized with covid), the short timing and degree of improvement makes me believe the antibodies played a bigger role in her improvement. Granted, she still isn’t in the clear yet, this disease has a horrendous track record of presenting oddly when it wants to, but if anyone here catches covid while on chemotherapy or immunosuppressed, this may be something they want to look into and ask their doctors about.  Hope everyone stays safe.