Crockett County EMS offer monoclonal antibody treatment

CROCKETT COUNTY, Tenn. — One local county is fighting back against COVID-19 in any way they can.

“The leaders, all of the department leaders, have come together as one team. We are fighting together. We have a unified front for our citizens, and we are working together to get rid of this virus in our community,” said Stephen Sutton, EMS Director in Crockett County.

And part of that unified front is the monoclonal antibody treatment.

Crockett County EMS is the first EMS organization in the state to open a monoclonal antibody treatment for their county.

Sutton says getting the treatment is simple.

“They test positive today. Their primary care provider sends in an order to the ambulance service, and they can show up to our clinic the very next day and receive this injection that has really had positive benefits among the citizens here,” he said.

Sutton says patients that go through the treatment sometimes see results almost immediately.

“Sometimes we see the patient’s symptoms resolve before they leave the clinic, especially with regards to the infusion. They will say my nose has cleared up, my headache is gone, their energy is back,” Sutton said.

Sutton says people should still get their vaccine, and not use this treatment as a replacement.

“This is kind of a stop gap measure for those people who are at risk of really having a very serious and severe case of complications from this virus,” Sutton said.

Crockett County Mayor Gary Reasons says the clinic is free for anyone in need of a treatment.

Their main goal is to help reduce the overcrowding in hospitals.

“It is a very good thing to keep patients out of the hospital so that those who are critically ill can be treated in our hospitals and surrounding clinics,” Reasons said.

Sutton says the federal government has put new restrictions on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the distribution of the treatment.

He hopes this will not affect the amount of supply they can receive to continue helping Crockett County.

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For more information on COVID-19, go to the CDC website, the Tennessee Department of Health website or call (877) 857-2945.

Additional COVID-19 information can be found in the “COVID-19” tab of the website.