Governor Abbott, TDEM Establish COVID-19 Antibody Infusion Center In Edinburg
Governor Greg Abbott today announced that the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM), in partnership with local officials, will establish a new COVID-19 therapeutic infusion center in Edinburg — the second infusion center in the Rio Grande Valley. The infusion center will begin accepting patients today and has been provided with Regeneron's monoclonal antibodies to treat outpatient cases of COVID-19 who have a referral from a doctor. This treatment is available at no cost to the patient. Local partners include Hidalgo County and the Doctors Hospital at Renaissance.
“The State of Texas is proud to partner with local officials and health leaders to launch a second infusion center in the Rio Grande Valley,” said Governor Abbott. “I urge Texans who test positive for COVID-19 to talk to their doctor about receiving this free and effective treatment. Texans can also visit meds.tdem.texas.gov to find a therapeutic provider near them.”
Governor Abbott, TDEM, and the Texas Department of State Health Services have established and expanded antibody infusion centers in communities across the state over the past few weeks. COVID-19 antibody infusion treatment can prevent a patient's condition from worsening and requiring hospital care. These facilities also help increase bed capacity in hospitals so that resources are available for the most ill patients. The State deployed similar measures beginning in November 2020 to communities across Texas.
These state sponsored infusion Centers are in addition to the antibody infusion treatment that is provided by more than 200 private health providers across the state.
Antibody infusion centers are currently operating in the following communities, with more coming online in the coming days:
- Austin (DSHS)
- Beaumont (TDEM)
- The Woodlands (DSHS)
- Corpus Christi (DSHS)
- Edinburg (TDEM)
- Fort Worth (DSHS)
- Harlingen (TDEM)
- Houston (DSHS)
- Laredo (DSHS)
- Lubbock (TDEM)
- Nacogdoches (TDEM)
- Odessa (TDEM)
- San Antonio (DSHS)
The treatment is free and available to all Texans who test positive for COVID-19 and have a doctor's referral. Texans can visit meds.tdem.texas.gov to find a therapeutic provider near them.