Centers in San Antonio, other Texas cities are out of the only antibody effective against omicron

The Texas Department of State Health Services says its regional infusion centers in San Antonio and four other cities have run out of the only monoclonal antibody treatment believed effective against COVID-19's surging omicron variant.

Those infusion centers — also located in Austin, El Paso, Fort Worth and The Woodlands — won't be able offer the treatment sotrovimab until federal authorities ship additional supply to Texas in January. The department said the treatment is running short nationwide.

DSHS will notify people with appointments scheduled for sotrovimab to let them know about their inability to provide the treatment. The centers in San Antonio and other locations with the outages will continue to offer other antibodies for people diagnosed with non-Omicron cases of COVID-19.

The Omicron variant now accounts for more than 90% percent of new cases, according to DSHS.

People with COVID-19 infections at high risk of hospitalization and death should contact their health care provider to discuss treatment options, according to the agency.

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