WHO recommends antibody treatment for critical covid patients; Check details

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released new guidelines according to which Coronavirus patients at high risk of hospitalization or those with severe disease should be given a combination of two antibody treatments.

The panel of WHO Guideline Development Group has recommended the treatment combining casirivimab and imdevimab for the two specific groups of patients with COVID-19.

Under the recommended treatments, the first is the patients with non-severe COVID-19 who are at high risk of hospitalization and the second ones are those with critical or severe Coronavirus cases who are seronegative, meaning that they have not mounted their own antibody response to COVID-19.

However, the panel also noted that for all the other COVID-19 patients, any benefits of this antibody treatment are unlikely to be meaningful.

First recommendation for COVID-19 treatment

The first recommendation by the World Health Organisation for the patients with non-severe COVID-19 who are at high risk of hospitalization is based on new evidence from the three trials that have not to be peer-reviewed.

The trial has shown that casirivimab and imdevimab may reduce the risk of hospitalization and the duration of symptoms in those at higher risk of severe diseases, such as older, unvaccinated, or immunosuppressed patients.

Second recommendation for COVID treatment by WHO panel

The second recommendation by the global health body for those with critical or severe Coronavirus cases is based on the data from another trial which has shown that the two antibodies are probably able to reduce deaths and the need for mechanical ventilation in seronegative patients.

The study has shown that the treatment with casirivimab and imdevimab has led to 49 fewer deaths per 1,000 in the severely ill and 87 fewer deaths in critically ill patients.

Casirivimab and imdevimab antibodies treatment: How does it work?

Casirivimab and imdevimab are the monoclonal antibodies that when used together bind to the S-CoV-2-spike protein, neutralizing the virus’s ability to infect cells. The spike protein helps the virus in binding and infecting the human cells.

Casirivimab and imdevimab antibodies treatment: What will be the limitations?

• WHO panel acknowledged that several cost and resource implications associated with the recommended antibody treatment. It may make access to the low and middle-income countries challenging.

• The panel has also recognized the possibility that the new variants of COVID-19 may emerge in which the Casirivimab and imdevimab antibodies may have reduced effect.