While good news about vaccines and their development are most definitely welcome in the long-term battle against COVID-19, what would help right now are some effective therapeutics to treat those who have fallen sick.

Which is why it is great news that the FDA has granted emergency authorization to Regeneron for the use of their monoclonal antibody cocktail.

The drug, made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, is designed to prevent infected people from developing severe illness. Instead of waiting for the body to develop its own protective immune response, the drug imitates the body’s natural defenses. It is the second drug of this type — called a monoclonal antibody — to be cleared for treating covid-19. The FDA authorized Eli Lilly & Co.’s drug on Nov. 9.”

Regeneron’s drug is a cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies, called casirivimab and imdevimab. The FDA said in authorizing the cocktail that it may be effective in treating mild to moderate covid-19 in adults and children 12 or older, and is indicated for those at high risk of developing severe illness. Doctors hope the drugs will keep those patients from being hospitalized.”

While you might not have heard much about Regeneron and their drug before, you already know of its effects. It is the Regeneron drug that President Trump credited for his aiding his recovery from COVID back in October.

And the trial of the monoclonal antibody cocktail continued even after the president took it.

NEW: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals says its coronavirus antibody cocktail, the experimental treatment that President Trump received, significantly reduced medical visits in a trial of nearly 800 patients with mild-to-moderate cases of Covid-19. https://t.co/tMvQ00ACKY

— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 29, 2020

At the time, the president asked the FDA to approve it on an emergency basis. But while the FDA was waiting, the president authorized it for use by Dr. Ben Carson, HUD Secretary, who now credits the monoclonal antibody cocktail with saving his life.

When you read the FDA statement about its authorization, you can’t help but be a little awed. The full might of scientific research has been singularly focused on finding not only a vaccine, but a treatment for this particular coronavirus. It has felt like an eternity to those of us stuck in a lockdown cycle, but in reality, the speed with which therapeutics have been tested and approved should be a giant win for the scientific community.

You know what’s coming next, right?

Don't trust it. I dont even think he got sick. Let his cult try it first. Wait about 6 months to read up about results.

— meme420 (@BeginMeme420) November 22, 2020

Yes, there is a loud and obnoxious contingent on social media that ties this FDA approval to the Bad Orange Man. This would be the same group that sounds exactly like Kamala Harris when she said that if Trump was president, she wouldn’t take a vaccine. I thought the “party of science” would be happy about an actual scientific breakthrough. But no. It’s only “good science” when their side is in charge and can get the credit. Otherwise, it’s BAD.

And people wonder why our country is so broken. I don’t think anyone cared who Jonas Salk voted for when he created the polio vaccine, only that it was saving lives. This is GOOD NEWS. This FDA approval for Regeneron means lives that can be saved RIGHT NOW. Those who choose to make the saving of lives political don’t deserve the courtesy of being listened to.

Featured image via stux on Pixabay, cropped, Pixabay license