The United States health authorities on December 8, 2021, authorized the use of synthetic antibodies that have been developed by AstraZeneca for preventing Coronavirus infections in individuals who react badly to the COVID-19 vaccines. The emergency use authorization has been given to AstraZeneca’s Evusheld, a long-acting antibody combination, for the prevention of COVID-19. The first doses of AstraZeneca’s Evusheld are expected to be available soon. It is also for the first time that US Food and Drug Administration has given EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) for such a purely preventive treatment.
Today, we issued an EUA for new long-acting monoclonal antibodies for the pre-exposure prevention of #COVID19 in certain adults and pediatric individuals. https://t.co/Yg1aUtBu7O pic.twitter.com/CvZAXcR8j2
— U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) December 8, 2021
About AstraZeneca’s Evusheld
AstraZeneca’s Evusheld combines two types of synthetic antibodies (tixagevimab and cilgavimab).
Evusheld is given as two intramuscular infections, one straight after the other. The two antibodies will help the body’s immune system in fighting off the virus by targeting its spike protein, which allows it to enter the cells and infect the body.
Who can receive AstraZeneca’s Evusheld?
Evusheld by AstraZeneca will be authorized only for individuals who have a weakened immune system or those who cannot receive COVID-19 vaccination for medical reasons, such as strong allergic reactions. The drug, in those cases, can be administered to people aged 12 and up.
Two cocktails of AstraZeneca’s antibodies are authorized for the prevention of infection in the US for those who have been exposed to the virus shortly before, or those who have a strong chance of being exposed to COVID-19, such as prisons or employees of retirement homes.
However, US FDA has warned that the drug Evusheld is not a substitute for the vaccination in individuals who are eligible to receive them. Evusheld cannot also be administered to someone who is already infected with the virus.
US FDA authorization to Evusheld
The authorization by US FDA was based on a clinical trial which was carried out on unvaccinated people over 59 years of age, or with chronic disease or high risk of infection.
The side effects of the Evusheld may include bleeding from the injection site, allergic reaction, fatigue, and headache.
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