Are You Or Is Someone You Love Sick With COVID-19? Learn Where To Get Treatments Near You

BERKELEY, CA — In recent months, public health officials have deemed COVID-19 an indefinite fixture, making it more important than ever for people to become aware of the available treatment options.

While the advent of vaccines significantly reduced the risk of hospitalization and death from a coronavirus infection, a handful of therapeutics have hit Berkeley clinics and have proven to reduce the risk of serious disease even more.

Across California, there are at least 4,600 clinics offering both antibody and antiviral treatments. In Berkeley, there are 13 clinics offering treatments for COVID-19 including Lagevrio, Evusheld and Paxlovid.

• Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, 2450 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705
• CVS Store #09941, 1451 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709
• CVS Store #10121, 2655 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704
• CVS Store #17673, 2187 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704
• CVS Store #17712, 1414 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702
• Optum Serve - City of Berkeley 6th, 1900 Sixth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
• Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy, 1744 Solano Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94707
• Safeway Pharmacy, 1444 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709
• University Health Services Pharmacy 2222 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94720
• W Berkeley Family Practice, 837 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
• Walgreens Store #02314, 1050 Gilman Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
• Walgreens Store #04614, 2801 Adeline St, Berkeley, CA 94703
• Walgreens Store #15025, 2190 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704

To date, the city of Berkeley has reported almost 20,000 cases of COVID-19 and 65 deaths since the start of the pandemic in 2020, according to data published by the city’s health department.

The total number of reported cases in Alameda County is approaching 350,000 with the total number of deaths reported at more than 2,000. The city said 95 percent of its residents are fully vaccinated with 82 percent of those residents already having received their first booster shot.

"The number and percent of residents fully vaccinated includes University of California, Berkeley students currently living in Berkeley," the city said. "Due to known limitations of vaccination and population data, percentages of people vaccinated are only reported up to 97.5 percent."

Patch recently spoke with Dr. John Swartzberg, a professor of vaccinology and infectious disease at the University of California, Berkeley, to discuss the available options, which range from antiviral medications to intravenous treatments.

"I think everybody agrees that this virus is going to be with us for the indefinite future — maybe forever," Swartzberg said.

The latest coronavirus surge has been driven by the infectious omicron subvariant, BA.5, but even as that wave continues to subside, two more subvariants — BA.4.6 and BA.2.75 — are being closely monitored.

As the threat of other future variants loom, aside from keeping up with vaccinations, Californians should also be aware of treatment options and their different attributes, Swartzberg said.

While Swartzberg said most treatment options available today are likely to remain effective against the omicron subvariants and new variants that arrive, the threat of more variants is still a concern.

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"I'm worried about the unknown-unknown," he said. "What's out there that we haven't recognized yet? ... For it to survive, [this virus] has to continue to change."

Those who fall ill from a COVID-19 infection should visit their physician to determine which treatment should be prescribed.

Here are the options available to treat COVID-19.

1. Paxlovid

For most people who develop COVID-19, Swartzberg said Paxlovid, an antiviral drug, is often the first drug of choice.

Paxlovid can be administered up to five days after the onset of symptoms and requires a doctor's prescription. While the most desired COVID-19 drug is Paxlovid, Swartzberg said in some cases it could be contraindicated by other drug interactions.

"For example, if you're taking an anticoagulant, you can't take Paxlovid," he said.

Paxlovid is available under Emergency Use Authorization through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

2. Remdesivir

The second drug of choice, Swartzberg said, is Remdesivir, which was the first drug approved to treat COVID-19 in 2020. It is the only antiviral treatment to receive full FDA approval. For those who can't take Paxlovid, he said Remdesivr is often the second-most effective option, yet it is not as widely available as other treatments.

Acceptable for both children and adults, Remdesivir is administered intravenously and must be given in a health care system.

"A lot of people don't want to get it since it's intravenous," Swartzberg said, noting that the three-day injection is less convenient than other treatments.

Children must be at least 28 days old, weigh more than 6.5 pounds and either be hospitalized or at high risk for severe disease.

3. Monoclonal Antibodies

According to Swartzberg, for those who cannot take or access Paxlovid or Remdesivir, the third choice is often Bebtelovimab, a monoclonal antibody treatment.

For those who can't access Bebtelovimab, Molnupiravir is sometimes given and is typically the fourth best option, he said. According to Swartzberg, Molnupiravir is well tolerated and can be given to adults, but it may affect bone development in children. It should not be administered to pregnant people, he said.

Authorized in February, Bebtelovimab is available to adults and children 12 and older weighing at least 88 pounds. It is mostly offered to those who have a high risk of developing severe disease from COVID-19.

It's a one-shot intravenous injection that must be given within seven days of the onset of symptoms.

Monoclonal antibody treatments are the only treatments that seem to react differently when pitted against new variants, Swartzberg said.

"We don't have a lot of data on it, but the data we have suggests that it's holding up against the newer variants," Swartzberg said of its effectiveness.

"Bebtelovimab attacks the virus itself, it attacks it at specific sites and that's why as you get these new subvariants, they may lose those sites and so the monoclonal antibody doesn't work anymore," he said. "That's what we've seen with a lot of the predecessors."

Evusheld, another monoclonal antibody, serves immunocompromised people who are not recommended to get a COVID-19 vaccine due to a history of severe adverse reactions, according to the FDA.