Those that have read my posts know that I have taken much more risk than most of us would with CLL. I never got the first two versions of Covid, but as of a test I took this morning I have a Positive Result. I felt a slight strange feeling in my throat, and started getting nasal a bit on Tuesday Night. Wednesday a light cold started, and the throat got slightly worse. Yesterday Thursday the cold blossomed and the throat seemed to go away. Last night I had huge sweats with the heavy cold, and my temperature got to 101.4 (my normal is exactly 97.7). I have had significant aches and pains, along with the heavy cold, but the throat never got as bad as some I've had over the years.
I called the ER at Boca Raton Regional Hospital, where I had received an infusion of bamlanivimab plus etesevimab in December. I had been exposed to a two year old who then got ill and tested positive a day later. I didnt get tested and didnt have symptoms, but the special team in the ER at Boca Regional felt that with CLL exposure was enough of a reason for me. So I called that team this Morning, before I got tested, and they said the new rule was I had to test positive. Went out and bought a kit and tested, and I did test positive. They have now scheduled me for tomorrow at 10am for a Sotrovimab Infusion.
The ER nurse on this special infusion team told me that Regeneron and bamlanivimab plus etesevimab were not effective against Omicron, so their team was now only using Sotrovimab. She said Sotrovimab has proven to be effective against Omicron. Today my fever is down so far, and I don't think I'm as sick as yesterday, but I'm gladly going in for the infusion. Not taking chances with my CLL depleted immune system battling to beat Omicron on its own. I do think that my December infusion of bamlanivimab plus etesevimab is helping my body to beat back the most severe stages of Omicron, but why take the chance this thing does make it into my lungs. I've had five Pneumonias in my 74 years, but the last one thank god was in January 2016. The leading cause of death with CLL I think is Pneumonia, so knowing I'm now positive with Omicron I'll take the infusion that's being offered.
I did speak late yesterday with a private doctor's office that is specializing in these infusions (and other interesting side lines. The doctor said he won't deal with insurance, so going into his office would be private pay. I still would have taken his offer last night to come in today, if I knew at that point I was positive. He told me that the half life of the antibodies from the infusions in our bloodstream is one month. So one month after an infusion you have one half the antibodies left. At two months you are down to one fourth of the number of antibodies, and at three months you are down to one eighth of the number of antibodies left in your blood stream. I found that information to be usefull enough to add it to this post.
Carl