What one GTA hospital is doing to help treat the most vulnerable COVID-19 patients

For those especially vulnerable to COVID-19, new antiviral and antibody treatments can make a real difference in alleviating the most severe symptoms associated with the disease.

Over the past year, multiple treatments for the novel coronavirus have been developed and approved for use—something experts have said is key to bringing this pandemic to an end.

In January, Health Canada approved Pfizer’s anti-viral pill called “Paxlovid,” which helps decrease the severity of illness in at-risk adults. It has become the first oral and at-home prescription medication to be given approval in this country.

A Canadian study has also found that an intravenous antiviral called Remdesivir can decrease the need for mechanical ventilation in a COVID-19 patient by about 50 per cent.

More locally, a pilot program at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton is treating high-risk COVID-19 patients with monoclonal antibodies, a protein that prevents the virus from infecting healthy cells within the body.

According to the hospital, initial studies showed the therapy reduced hospitalization by about 71 per cent and reduced death by about 70 per cent.

In this week’s episode of Life Unmasked, the team speaks with two Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease physician at St. Josephs, as well two nurses working to administer monoclonal antibodies to patients. The team explains what monoclonal antibodies are, how effective they can be and why treatments such as this are so beneficial—not just for the patient but for the health-care system as a whole.

CTV News Toronto's podcast Life Unmasked airs first on the iHeart app before becoming available on other streaming platforms. If you have questions for the podcast team, or an idea for an episode, please email [e-mail].