COVID-19 infections are surging again, so if you are feeling sick, it’s important to get tested as quickly as possible.

If you test positive and have underlying medical issues that make you more vulnerable to severe illness — like being 65 or older, being pregnant, obese or having a suppressed immune system — you should seek COVID-19 treatments immediately.

Back in the beginning of the pandemic, doctors had few treatments to help people who got sick with COVID-19.

But coronavirus care has come a long way since early 2020, and advice from doctors is clear now. Don’t suffer at home. If you test positive for COVID-19 and you’re in a high-risk group, call your doctor and get help as quickly as possible.

The newest COVID-19 treatments include monoclonal antibodies like bebtelovimab and an intravenous antiviral medication, remdesivir. Both work well against the newest omicron variants and subvariants, BA.2 and BA.1.1. Doctors also can prescribe antiviral medications like paxlovid and molnupiravir (not quite as good as the others but still better than nothing). There’s also a relatively new medication that can prevent immunocompromised people from getting COVID-19 in the first place. It’s called evusheld.

Of course, everyone should get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 to decrease the likelihood of getting sick in the first place. But as immunities wane and variants spread, people who are vaccinated can get sick. If you are vaccinated and boosted, you’re likely to get a milder case if you do get COVID-19. Still, it’s wise to be prepared and know about medications that can help if you get sick.

The newest COVID-19 treatments are so valuable because they help people recover faster. They also have proven to be highly effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths for people at high risk for suffering a poor outcome if they get COVID-19. These people include those who are older, immunocompromised, pregnant and obese.

“It’s unbelievable,” infectious disease specialist Dr. Michelle Barron said of the progress in developing COVID-19 treatments so quickly. “I put this in the same realm as vaccines.

“I would never have imagined that we’d have so many therapies. It just shows how far we can go when we have a shared purpose and a high level of investment in public health,” said Barron, who is UCHealth’s senior medical director of infection prevention and control and a professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine on the Anschutz Medical Campus.

Barron urges people not to delay in asking for help.

“The goal of these medications is to keep people out of hospitals. If you have these risk factors, there’s a real risk of getting sick,” Barron said.

“Anyone in doubt about whether they might qualify should check with their doctor. And don’t be concerned that you should save COVID-19 treatments for people who might be at higher risk because in fact, you may be one of those people,” Barron said.

Even if you don’t feel severely ill when you first get infected, your illness could worsen quickly. And those who use the newest treatments need to take them early in the course of the illness.

“The time is now,” said Barron. “At this point, the supplies of these medications, especially the oral options, are good. You shouldn’t feel guilty for taking these medications if you are qualified to receive them. Call your doctor right now if you have tested positive for COVID-19. That’s the whole point of these medications: to use them to keep people out of hospitals.”

Barron helps answer your top questions about the newest COVID-19 treatments and who should get them.

Monoclonal antibodies and antiviral medications are recommended for people who test positive for COVID-19 and those in high-risk groups including people who are:

“You can look up the criteria yourself or call your provider. Oral antivirals are widely available at pharmacies now,” Barron said.

“All of the options are good,” Barron said. “Clinical studies have shown that paxlovid, monoclonal antibodies, and intravenous remdesivir all can keep individuals out of the hospital. The decision regarding which one your provider may recommend depends on which options are available where you live and what therapy is easiest to access. Doctors also consider which specific conditions a person has or which medications they may be taking.”

Yes. There are two prescription medications that doctors are using currently. One is made by Pfizer and is called paxlovid. Merck manufactured the second medication, and it’s called molnupiravir. Both medications help prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from spreading and are most effective when given early in the disease course.

Paxlovid is an oral antiviral medication. Patients get a prescription from their doctor and pick up the medication at a pharmacy. They then take the antiviral pills for five days. The supplies for paxlovid have improved in recent weeks with more local pharmacies carrying a supply. It is being distributed for free by the U.S. federal government.

According to drug makers, paxlovid reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 89%.

Yes. Some people complain of gastrointestinal side effects like diarrhea. But some people who get sick with COVID-19 also get gastrointestinal symptoms. So, it’s difficult to know whether the infection or the medication is causing the symptoms, Barron said.

In order for the medication to work, patients must receive it within five days of getting symptoms of COVID-19.

Molnupiravir is another type of oral antiviral medication. It’s a drug made by Merck. The effectiveness has been lower. Studies showed it prevented hospitalization and death by about 40%. It is being distributed for free by the U.S. federal government.

They include diarrhea, dizziness, and nausea.

Monoclonal antibodies are substances that experts manufacture in a lab that can specifically recognize and target the virus that causes COVID-19. These synthetic antibodies limit the ability of the virus to spread in the body. Monoclonal antibodies allow people to have a milder illness and thus, reduce hospitalizations and deaths.

If you meet the criteria, it’s wise to get monoclonal antibodies as quickly after testing positive for COVID-19 as possible. The monoclonal antibodies will help patients as long as they receive them within seven days of symptom onset.

Bebtelovimab is the newest version of monoclonal antibodies. It’s made by the pharmaceutical company, Lilly. It’s effective in combating the newest COVID-19 variants and sub variants. Read more about bebtelovimab.

The U.S. government has spent $720 million for hundreds of thousands of doses of bebtelovimab that are being distributed around the country. For patients, the infusion is free (for now). If shortages occur, patients or insurance companies may need to foot the bill for monoclonal antibodies. (Review information about signing up for monoclonal antibodies through UCHealth.)

Patients go to a medical center and get an IV. Nurses then inject one dose of bebtelovimab into a person’s body through an IV.  It only takes a few minutes to receive the medication, but nurses observe patients for at least an hour after the infusion to ensure that the patient is not having any side effects. Altogether an infusion appointment might take about two hours.

Side effects or allergies to monoclonal antibodies are rare and can include fever, difficulty breathing, low oxygen level in your blood, chills, tiredness, fast or slow heart rate, chest discomfort, wheezing, swelling of the lips, face, or throat, rash including hives, itching, muscle aches, dizziness, feeling faint, and sweating.

Patients receive a single dose of bebtelovimab.

Remdesivir is an antiviral medication created by Gilead Sciences. Patients receive remdesivir via IV infusions. The drug is fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration and doctors use remdesivir both for hospitalized patients and to prevent hospitalizations. Recent studies have shown that if patients receive remdesivir early in the course of their illness, they can avoid hospitalization.

For people who receive remdesivir as outpatients, it’s best to get the treatments as early as possible and within seven days of symptom onset. People who are hospitalized with COVID-19 can receive remdesivir later in the course of their illness.

For people who are not hospitalized, the infusion time is short, but you will need to be observed for a period of time after the infusion, Barron said.

The most common side effect is nausea. Rarely, you can also have an allergic reaction or can also have an increase in your liver enzymes.

People who are not hospitalized get three consecutive infusions. Hospitalized patients who receive remdesivir get treatments for 5 to 10 days depending on the severity of illness.

Remdesivir is approved for use in children and adults. Babies who are at least 28 days old and weigh more than 6.6 pounds can receive remdesivir. The medication is approved for those with COVID-19 who are at high risk for becoming severely ill with the disease.

It’s a medication for immunocompromised people who haven’t been able to produce enough antibodies after being vaccinated or for people that cannot get a COVID-19 vaccination due to an allergy or an allergic reaction to the vaccine. Evusheld, which is made by AstraZeneca, is a drug that immunocompromised people receive to prevent them from getting COVID-19.

People who received evusheld during clinical trials were 77% less likely to get COVID-19.

For now, doctors are recommending that people who need evusheld should receive a single dose.

“It is given as two consecutive intramuscular injections,” Barron said. “You will then be observed for up to an hour after administration.”

You can have an allergic reaction after receiving the drug and also might have some soreness or bruising at the injection site.

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