Alabama could see COVID medication supplies reduced

Alabama could see its shipments of a high profile COVID-19 treatment in short supply soon. Monoclonal antibody therapy may be reduced as federal officials take over distribution. The national effort is to distribute the limited life-saving resource more evenly during the COVID-19 pandemic. State Health Officer Scott Harris says federal officials will use a formula to decide how many doses each state will get as they ration the treatments in response to a national shortage. Harris says it’s unclear what that will mean for the number of doses coming into Alabama. Antibody treatment is a highly effective therapy that can blunt the worst effects of COVID-19. The State remains among the lowest in the nation for COVID-19 vaccination, just ahead of Mississippi, with 38% of Alabama’s population being fully vaccinated. Alabama poison control centers recently reported an untick in calls over the unproven use of a horse deworming medication.