HOUSTON – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced last week that the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Division of Emergency Management were launching nine COVID-19 antibody infusion centers throughout the state, and the first Houston-area location is opening Monday.
The regional infusion center is opening in the Shenandoah/Conroe area at this address: Woodlands Diagnostic Clinic Building, 9201 Pinecroft, Shenandoah, TX 77380. The center will be open from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m., and approximately 90 individuals per day can be infused at the site, according to a Texas state health official.
Recommended Videos
COVID-19 vaccination sites are also widespread across Texas. You can find a vaccination site here. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said COVID-19 vaccines are effective at helping protect against severe disease and death from variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 currently circulating, including the Delta variant.
A news release from Abbott’s office said infusion centers have opened in San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Harlingen and Lubbock. Others were planned in Austin at the Travis County Expo Center, and DSHS is working with local officials to launch similar operations in Dallas-Fort Worth and Laredo.
Abbott’s office said more infusion centers will be launched throughout the state as additional needs are identified based on factors such as COVID-19 case data and existing resources.
“Antibody infusion centers play an integral role in our efforts to combat COVID-19 because they help prevent hospitalizations and ensure that resources are available to treat the most severe cases of this virus,” Abbott said via news release. “Thank you to our local partners for working with the State of Texas to launch these centers across Texas. We will continue to work with local leaders to ensure our communities have the support they need to keep Texans safe and healthy.”
Abbott’s office said these infusion centers, equipped with Regeneron’s monoclonal antibodies, will treat COVID-19 patients who do not need hospitalization with therapeutic drugs that can prevent their condition from worsening and requiring hospital care. Abbott’s office said these centers also help increase bed capacity in hospitals so that resources are available for the most ill patients. The state deployed similar measures in early 2021 to communities across Texas. Patients must meet certain criteria and have a referral from a doctor.