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 lifeunmasked@bellmedia.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Slovakia's populist prime minister shot in assassination attempt, shocking Europe before elections
Slovakia's populist prime minister, Robert Fico, was shot multiple times and gravely wounded Wednesday after a political event in an attempted assassination that shocked the small country and reverberated across Europe.
Transport Canada's UFO 'lead' planned to meet with U.S. intel officials, called info requests a 'wild goose chase'
Canada's transportation department had a UFO 'lead' who tried to 'quell' media interest and planned to meet with U.S. intelligence officials.
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver handed a cell phone ticket for using points app in McDonald's drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
'The Fly' has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?
A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy that left two guards dead.
BREAKING Ontario's 'Crypto King' Aiden Pleterski arrested
Aiden Pleterski, the self-proclaimed 'crypto king' from Whitby, Ont., has been arrested in Durham Region after allegedly running a Ponzi scheme worth more than $40 million.
Barge hits a bridge in Texas, damaging the structure and causing an oil spill
A barge slammed into a bridge pillar in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into surrounding waters and closing the only road to a smaller and separate island that is home to a university, officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Person responsible for 1996 drugging of 'Titanic' crew likely not a local: Halifax police
Halifax Regional Police believe a non-resident could be responsible for the infamous drugging of numerous crew members of the 'Titanic' movie with a hallucinogenic in 1996.
Latest updates on the biggest wildfires burning in Canada
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
OPINION If you think you can’t focus for long, you’re right: Sandee LaMotte
Regaining your focus requires you to be mindful of how you are using technology -- a daunting task if you consider the average American spends at least 10 hours a day on screens.