Infusion centers in five large Texas metros have exhausted their supply of the antibody drug that is most effective against the more-transmissible omicron variant.
The Texas Department of Health and Human Services said centers in Austin, El Paso, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and the Houston area have run out of sotrovimab, which is the monoclonal antibody treatment effective against omicron.
"People who had appointments scheduled this week will be contacted directly and advised. Other monoclonal antibodies have not shown to be effective against the omicron variant, which now accounts for more than 90% of new cases," the state said. "The infusion centers will continue to offer those antibodies as prescribed by health care providers for people diagnosed with a non-omicron case of COVID-19."
The agency said the treatment cannot be offered until January when the next shipment of the drug is expected to arrive from the federal government.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
Antibody drugs for coronavirus variants other than omicron are still available, the agency said.
Supply of the drug is “extremely limited, and additional doses of the product will not be available until the week of Jan. 3,” the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement posted online.
