• Live Coronavirus, Spain, today

  • Pandemic The dilemma of letting the Covid passport expire or getting the booster dose ahead of time

The Ministry of Health and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca have formalized this Friday an agreement for the supply and distribution of

Evusheld

, a drug that combines two long-acting monoclonal antibodies (tixagevimab and cilgavimab) and is indicated "for the passive immunization of patients with more high risk of contracting Covid-19 and of evolving to severe forms of the disease".

This drug is indicated as

pre-exposure prophylaxis

, that is, as a measure to prevent infection and the risk of developing complications in people whose immune system does not work properly (immunocompromised people).

This lack of competence of the immune system can occur in patients with

immunodeficiencies

, solid organ

transplant

recipients or people treated for

hematological malignancies

with drugs that inhibit their ability to generate immunity against the antigen injected with the vaccines.

"This is a

medicine aimed at a specific and determined group, immunosuppressed people.

It will allow those people who have inoculated doses of the vaccine and are unable to reach a significant level of antibodies and protection, with this medicine, which acts as a kind of prior prophylaxis, it will allow these people in a certain time to have this protection, "said Minister Carolina Darias after the act of signing the agreement, reports Europa Press.

As Health has pointed out in a statement, Evusheld is currently "the only drug that pursues an indication of pre-exposure prophylaxis".

What is Evusheld?

The drug, also called

AZD7442

, is a combination of thixagevimab and cilgavimab, two monoclonal antibodies designed to recognize and adhere to different parts of the SARS-CoV-2 protein S, the key that the virus uses to enter cells.

Its objective, therefore, is to neutralize the pathogen and prevent it from entering the cells, replicating and causing an infection.

How does it work?

The monoclonal antibodies that make up the drug have been derived from

B lymphocytes of patients

convalescing from SARS-CoV-2 infection and mimic the function that would be carried out by the natural immune response.

What is its effectiveness?

According to data from AstraZeneca, in the phase III PROVENT prevention trial (n=5197), one intramuscular (IM) dose of AZD7442 reduced the risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 by 77% versus placebo results in the main analysis, and by 83% after an average of six months of follow-up, demonstrating long-lasting protection.

According to company data, its effectiveness against the omicron variant has also been tested.

Will it be available now?

The drug has not yet been authorized in the European Union.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is currently carrying out a

continuous evaluation process

(rolling review);

a mechanism that, in cases of emergency, makes it possible to speed up the evaluation periods without prejudicing the guarantees of quality, safety and efficacy.

The process began on October 14.

Until the EMA rules on the matter, Health and AstraZeneca have signed a

temporary use agreement

that will allow the drug to be supplied urgently, as AstraZeneca has detailed in a statement.

The drug already has the approval of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in pre-exposure prophylaxis aimed at vulnerable populations.

How many doses will be purchased?

The ministry and the pharmaceutical company have agreed to purchase 30,000 doses of the drug Evusheld, which will be available throughout the month of February, reports Efe.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

  • covid 19

  • Coronavirus

Health Immunologists question the third dose for the general population, while endorsing the fourth for the immunosuppressed

HealthThe formula to avoid massive infection without restrictions: "We must say loud and clear that the Covid is airborne and act accordingly"

CoronavirusIs a fourth dose of the vaccine really necessary?

When and how should it be administered?

See links of interest

  • Last News

  • Work calendar 2022

  • The reading

  • Winter Olympics 2022

  • Bitci Baskonia - Olympiacos Piraeus

  • Real Madrid - Zenit Saint Petersburg