Minnesota opens new clinic to expand metro access to COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Department of Health opened a new clinic Tuesday in St. Paul to expand access to monoclonal antibody COVID-19 treatment in the Twin Cities metro area.  

MDH said the clinic will provide outpatient treatment for qualifying people with mild to moderate symptoms who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days and who are at high risk of their illness leading to hospitalization or death. 

The new clinic, located near Interstate 35E and Arlington Avenue West, will not be open to walk-ins. Instead, people who have tested positive for COVID-19 are asked to contact their healthcare provider or go to the website for the Minnesota Resource Allocation Platform to make an appointment.

Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies made in a lab that act like natural antibodies to limit the amount of virus in a patient's body. The antibodies are administered via IV infusion. For COVID-19 patients, the treatment can stop them from getting even sicker and may help shorten the amount of time they are sick. 

There are about 80 locations for the treatment statewide with about 10 in the metro, including the new St. Paul site, according to an MDH spokesperson. 

MDH on Tuesday reported 7.133 additional cases of COVID-19 and 12 more deaths attributed to the disease. The new cases and deaths bring the state's total number of cases and deaths to  725,451 and  8,203 respectively. The state's 7-day average test positivity rate has increased to 7.2%, well above the state's caution threshold.