Governor Greg Abbott today announced that the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM), in partnership with local officials, launched a new COVID-19 therapeutic infusion center in College Station. The infusion center opens to the public tomorrow and has been provided with monoclonal antibodies to treat outpatient cases of COVID-19 with a doctor’s referral. This treatment is available at no cost to the patient. Local partners include Brazos County, the City of College Station, the City of Bryan, and St. Joseph Health Hospital.
“This facility in Brazos County will ensure Texans in the Bryan-College Station region who test positive for COVID-19 have access to this free and effective treatment,” said Governor Abbott. “Thank you to our local government partners and St. Joseph Health Hospital for working with us to open this new infusion center.”
The State of Texas through the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM), in partnership with the Office of the Brazos County Judge, the City of College Station, the City of Bryan and St. Joseph Health, is opening the infusion center as an additional resource for treating COVID-19 patients. It will include personnel, equipment, supplies and wraparound services for a 15-chair Regional Infusion Center.
The state-supported infusion center will open to the public on Thursday, September 30, and is located at 4411 Highway 6, College Station 77845. The facility will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Medical professionals will be able to administer a monoclonal antibody treatment to up to approximately 45 patients per day.
The treatment is available at no cost to patients. Patients must be confirmed COVID-19 positive, within ten days of symptom onset, and have a referral from a primary care physician. The infusions are meant for COVID-19 patients who are not yet hospitalized or on oxygen supplements.
These infusion centers, equipped with Regeneron’s monoclonal antibodies, will treat COVID-19 patients with therapeutic drugs that can prevent their condition from worsening and requiring hospital care. These centers also help increase bed capacity in hospitals so that resources are available for the most ill patients.
Governor Abbott, TDEM, and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) have established and expanded antibody infusion centers in communities across the state over the past several months. 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 infusion treatment centers provided by more than 200 private health providers across the state.
Antibody infusion centers are currently operating in the following communities, with more in the planning stages:
• Amarillo (TDEM)
• Austin (DSHS)
• Beaumont (TDEM)
• College Station (TDEM)
• Corpus Christi (DSHS)
• Edinburg (TDEM)
• Fort Worth (DSHS)
• Harlingen (TDEM)
• Houston (DSHS)
• Laredo (DSHS)
• Livingston (TDEM)
• Lubbock (TDEM)
• McKinney (TDEM)
• Nacogdoches (TDEM)
• Nash (TDEM)
• Odessa (TDEM)
• San Antonio (DSHS)
• Seguin (TDEM)
• Tyler (TDEM)
• The Woodlands (DSHS)
• Victoria (TDEM)
• Waco (TDEM)
The treatment is free and available to Texans who test positive for COVID-19 and have a referral from a doctor. Texans can visit meds.tdem.texas.gov to find a therapeutic provider.