IDAHO, USA — Felicity Guidry has a lot on her shoulders amid the pandemic.
Guidry's parents are immunocompromised, her son has a heart condition and her husband died in March 2020.
Her husband was not tested, but Guidry believes her husband died from COVID-19.
"It's a rollercoaster," Guidry said. "I try to be grounded. I try to be solid for everyone else. Then it hits me. A lot of people weren’t tested those days.”
Guidry was excited when the COVID-19 vaccine rollout began a little over a year ago, however, Guidry has an allergy to a vaccine ingredient.
Her doctor recommended not getting the shot and Guidry wanted to know her options.
"And (the doctor) didn't have any answers," Guidry said. "She was kinda flustered herself."
Guidry later got the answer she had been waiting almost a year for.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization to a new monoclonal treatment in December. It is the Astrazeneca Evusheld shot.
Unlike other monoclonal treatment, Evusheld is preventative, meaning the patient takes it before infection.
Evusheld is a two-part injection and can offer six months of protection, according to Idaho State Epidemiologist Dr. Christine Hahn. The FDA authorizes the treatment for people with "moderate to severely compromised immune systems" or anybody with "a history of severe adverse reactions to a COVID-19 vaccine" or any of the vaccine's ingredients.
Idaho has around 200 doses, according to Hahn. The state expects to receive another 240 doses this week.
"Very small numbers compared to what we'd like to have, but this could be wonderful for people who are severely immunosuppressed who may not respond to the vaccine otherwise," Hahn said.
St. Luke's and Saint Alphonsus confirmed to KTVB in an email they are administering Evusheld to patients, but only the most immunocompromised are eligible.
"Those groups include oncology related illnesses, organ transplant recipients, HIV and other immunocompromised patients," Saint Alphonsus spokesperson Mark Snider said. "It's impossible to predict if or when the list of priority patients will be expanded to include other groups. Our pharmacy team has no information on that."
So, even while people with an allergy like Guidry are eligible for the shot by FDA standards, limited supply continues to keep her from treatment.
After two years, Guidry's protection against the virus has stalled at distancing six feet, hand sanitizer and a mask.
"Just staying safe the best I can," Guidry said. "I just hope people take this seriously. I think that the politics really hammered the chance that we had. I don't know if we'll ever see the end of it."
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