Amid Growing COVID-19 Cases, Frustration Growing Over Testing, Treatment Shortages: 'We Don't Have Access At All'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- With COVID-19 cases continuing to spread, there's also growing frustration about the continuing shortage of tests and treatments.
For some, surviving COVID-19 outside a hospital means finding treatment on their own. Resources are limited and success often depends mostly on some diligence and some luck.
Bob Goodman is a heart transplant survivor who's back to competitive running, but his immune system is compromised. For him, getting COVID-19 is especially dangerous.
"One of the very few times where I really was scared since the transplant," Goodman said.
Doctors said he needed a monoclonal antibody, one of the few treatments that help fight COVID-19, but it's in short supply. Many who are newly diagnosed are being told they're on their own.
"I had no idea," Michael Johnson, a COVID-19 patient, said. "When she told me that, I almost cried."
Dr. John Stallkamp is the chief medical officer of Main Line Health.
"We have paused all of our antibody treatments," Stallkamp said. "We don't have access at all, have not been able to get it from the state."
There's also limited access to the newly approved anti-viral pills to treat COVID-19.
"We do have an issue with supply until we get more of these products," Pennsylvania Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson said.
Drugmakers are working as fast as possible to produce more treatments, but for now, there are limited options for the skyrocketing number of people being diagnosed with COVID-19.
"This is just really frustrating," Goodman said.
With help from his wife Patti, the South Jersey couple hunted down the antibody treatment that's critical for people like Goodman, who have compromised immune systems.
"You need to be really proactive for yourself," he said.
Feeling lucky and relieved, he's recovering again, having now conquered heart failure and COVID-19.
Doctors say while there are limited supplies of COVID-19 treatments for people who aren't hospitalized, for those who are, there's no shortage of therapies like Remdesivir.
