Mrs Sue Flockhart1
1Ballarat Health Services, Ballarat, Australia
A COVID-19 outbreak was declared in a 30 bed residential aged care (RAC) facility which forms part of Grampians Health-Ballarat health Services. There was a total of 14 confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the unit, 5 staff and unfortunately 4 resident deaths.
Residents were assessed for the administration of Sotrovimab within the RAC and 5 were deemed to meet the criteria.
Sotrovimab is a type of medicine called a monoclonal antibody. It has been developed to treat COVID-19. It works by sticking to the spike protein of the virus that causes COVID-19. This stops the virus from attaching to human cells and entering the body. This can help to overcome the infection and stop infected people from getting seriously sick. Sotrovimab reduces the risk of needing to go to hospital or dying from COVID-19 if used within 5 days of symptoms first appearing. It is approved in Australia to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and children over 12 years of age who are at risk of becoming severely ill.
There was a significant amount of background work that needed to be completed prior to the infusions being administered. Discussion with residents, families, general practitioners (GP) and on one occasion the public advocate. All residents received the infusion with no adverse events and it improved their recovery rate.
This demonstrates the capacity to safely administer Sotrovimab infusion in a resident’s own home.
Biography: Sue Flockhart is a senior infection consultant currently working as the manager infection prevention and control/workforce immunisations at Ballarat Health Services-Grampians Health. She has a special interest in outbreak management, environmental cleaning and ventilation.