Governor, State Medical Director urge Covid vaccination, monoclonal therapy

BEATRICE – Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts said Monday hospital capacity is still in good shape during a surge in Covid cases….currently at 27-percent of bed capacity….16-percent on ICU beds.
Ricketts urged people to be vaccinated against Covid-19…..even though he has opposed mandates for the vaccine.

"The virus is never going away. The flu virus doesn't go away. We have new shots every year for the flu virus. The Covid virus is going to be with us for a long, long time...so we're going to have to manage this. The best defense we have against that Covid virus is making sure we get the vaccine. It will help you build that immunity so you can fight off the virus. If you haven't been vaccinated yet, please talk to your health care professional."

As of Monday, there were 523 hospitalizations for the virus, down from Friday’s number of 584. The peak this year was 637…compared to last year’s peak of 987 Covid hospitalizations.

Both Ricketts and State Medical Director Dr. Gary Anthone were promoting the use of monoclonal antibody treatment in the early stages off symptoms as a way to avoid hospitalization because of Covid….despite some doctors not willing to prescribe it.

Anthone said vaccine is still the number one way to fight the virus. He said two new anti-viral medications are soon to come out, manufactured by Merck and by Pfizer….both oral medications that will be available at pharmacies.  The Food and Drug Administration has not yet given emergency authorization for use, but that could come soon.

Anthone encouraged Nebraskans to take common sense steps over the holidays to stay healthy, such as exercise and eating properly, getting the right vitamins. Anthone said there are several combinations of monoclonal antibodies that help fight off the virus.

"They are most effective when they are given early, during your symptoms or disease after you test positive."

There are 86 infusion sites in Nebraska where the treatment is possible. Anthone said the state is currently seeing over 1,400 monoclonal antibody infusions per week.

Governor Ricketts said Monday that some executive orders will be extended through March 31st, that were set to expire at the end of December.

"Those allow for greater flexibility with regard to hospital workers who are able to perform certain duties. It also allows us to keep that dashboard going, as well....so we'll be able to provide that information on the dashboard. Also, it takes care of some of the red tape around hospital and health care operations."

Ricketts says the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services will request an additional $20 reimbursement per day for long-term care facilities…for the first six months of next year, or about $21.3 million in additional aid. The request is being made to the Center for Medicaid Services.