The Food and Drug Administration in early December authorized the first monoclonal antibody medication for preventing COVID-19 in certain immunocompromised adult and pediatric patients. One dose of the drug may be effective for six months, the agency reported.
AstraZeneca’s Evusheld consists of tixagevimab and cilgavimab administered together via injection. The cocktail has been granted emergency use authorization for use before exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The goal is to protect people who are unlikely to mount an adequate immune response to COVID-19 vaccination, FDA said.
Recipients should not be infected with the virus or have been recently exposed to an infected individual, FDA noted.
To qualify, they must also have either moderate to severely compromised immune systems or a history of severe adverse reactions to a COVID-19 vaccine and/or vaccine components.
