Using a web platform for equitable distribution of COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies: a case study in resource allocation
While medical countermeasures in COVID-19 have largely focused on vaccinations, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were early outpatient treatment options for COVID-positive patients. In Minnesota, a centralized access platform was developed to offer access to mAbs that linked over 31,000 patients to care...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1226935/full |
| _version_ | 1797426221624066048 |
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| author | Jonathon P. Leider Sarah Lim Debra DeBruin Alexandra T. Waterman Barbara Smith Umesh Ghimire Haley Huhtala Zachary Zirnhelt Ruth Lynfield John L. Hick |
| author_facet | Jonathon P. Leider Sarah Lim Debra DeBruin Alexandra T. Waterman Barbara Smith Umesh Ghimire Haley Huhtala Zachary Zirnhelt Ruth Lynfield John L. Hick |
| author_sort | Jonathon P. Leider |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While medical countermeasures in COVID-19 have largely focused on vaccinations, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were early outpatient treatment options for COVID-positive patients. In Minnesota, a centralized access platform was developed to offer access to mAbs that linked over 31,000 patients to care during its operation. The website allowed patients, their representative, or providers to screen the patient for mAbs against Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) criteria and connect them with a treatment site if provisionally eligible. A validated clinical risk scoring system was used to prioritize patients during times of scarcity. Both an ethics and a clinical subject matter expert group advised the Minnesota Department of Health on equitable approaches to distribution across a range of situations as the pandemic evolved. This case study outlines the implementation of this online platform and clinical outcomes of its users. We assess the impact of referral for mAbs on hospitalizations and death during a period of scarcity, finding in particular that vaccination conferred a substantially larger protection against hospitalization than a referral for mAbs, but among unvaccinated users that did not get a referral, chances of hospitalization increased by 4.1 percentage points. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T08:27:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f27bdbc8041340f0977317dda2c32aba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T08:27:09Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-f27bdbc8041340f0977317dda2c32aba2023-12-02T21:07:19ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652023-11-011110.3389/fpubh.2023.12269351226935Using a web platform for equitable distribution of COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies: a case study in resource allocationJonathon P. Leider0Sarah Lim1Debra DeBruin2Alexandra T. Waterman3Barbara Smith4Umesh Ghimire5Haley Huhtala6Zachary Zirnhelt7Ruth Lynfield8John L. Hick9Center for Public Health Systems, Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United StatesMinnesota Department of Health, Saint Paul, MN, United StatesCenter for Bioethics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United StatesMinnesota Department of Health, Saint Paul, MN, United StatesHealth Sciences Technology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United StatesCenter for Public Health Systems, Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United StatesHealth Sciences Technology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United StatesMinnesota Department of Health, Saint Paul, MN, United StatesMinnesota Department of Health, Saint Paul, MN, United StatesHennepin Healthcare, Minneapolis, MN, United StatesWhile medical countermeasures in COVID-19 have largely focused on vaccinations, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were early outpatient treatment options for COVID-positive patients. In Minnesota, a centralized access platform was developed to offer access to mAbs that linked over 31,000 patients to care during its operation. The website allowed patients, their representative, or providers to screen the patient for mAbs against Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) criteria and connect them with a treatment site if provisionally eligible. A validated clinical risk scoring system was used to prioritize patients during times of scarcity. Both an ethics and a clinical subject matter expert group advised the Minnesota Department of Health on equitable approaches to distribution across a range of situations as the pandemic evolved. This case study outlines the implementation of this online platform and clinical outcomes of its users. We assess the impact of referral for mAbs on hospitalizations and death during a period of scarcity, finding in particular that vaccination conferred a substantially larger protection against hospitalization than a referral for mAbs, but among unvaccinated users that did not get a referral, chances of hospitalization increased by 4.1 percentage points.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1226935/fullpublic health preparednessCOVID-19 responsescarce resource allocationcase studymonoclonal antibodyequitable allocation of resources |
| spellingShingle | Jonathon P. Leider Sarah Lim Debra DeBruin Alexandra T. Waterman Barbara Smith Umesh Ghimire Haley Huhtala Zachary Zirnhelt Ruth Lynfield John L. Hick Using a web platform for equitable distribution of COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies: a case study in resource allocation Frontiers in Public Health public health preparedness COVID-19 response scarce resource allocation case study monoclonal antibody equitable allocation of resources |
| title | Using a web platform for equitable distribution of COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies: a case study in resource allocation |
| title_full | Using a web platform for equitable distribution of COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies: a case study in resource allocation |
| title_fullStr | Using a web platform for equitable distribution of COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies: a case study in resource allocation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using a web platform for equitable distribution of COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies: a case study in resource allocation |
| title_short | Using a web platform for equitable distribution of COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies: a case study in resource allocation |
| title_sort | using a web platform for equitable distribution of covid 19 monoclonal antibodies a case study in resource allocation |
| topic | public health preparedness COVID-19 response scarce resource allocation case study monoclonal antibody equitable allocation of resources |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1226935/full |
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