Omicron vs. treatments: What we know about how monoclonal antibodies work against new variant.
Pfizer’s Paxlovid is a series of 30 pills that can be taken at home over five days and is shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization from COVD-19 by nearly 90%.With omicron's explosive spread threatening to outpace currentThe first oral antiviral treatments for the virus werethis week: Pfizer's Paxlovid, and Merck's Molnupiravir, which have proved effective against severe illness and death from COVID, and are expected to hold up against omicron.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said the low supply of sotrovimab is"something we need to worry about" in a private call this week between the White House COVID response team and the nation's governors obtained by ABC News.Dr. Aldo Calvo, medical director of Family Medicine at Broward Health, shows a Regeneron monoclonal antibody infusion bag during a news conference Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021 at the hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, told ABC News that state leaders gearing up for omicron face a multipronged challenge: what was a"compelling tool" against the virus is now compromised, and what now works is still in limited supply. In addition, with hospital staffing shortages, there are looming concerns that manpower to administer the treatment will also be scarce.
A spokeswoman for GSK told ABC News the company is"working with urgency and exploring options to expand our supply capacity in 2022," including securing additional batches of the ingredients they'll need to amp up sotrovimab manufacturing, and pushing up their next year supply plans to make more available sooner.
The government spent billions of dollars purchasing Regeneron and Eli Lilly's monoclonal antibody cocktail to ensure there would be enough supply; GSK's had not been as widely purchased and distributed. When delta became the dominant variant of concern and all three antibody therapies were effective against it, Eli Lilly's authorization was renewed.
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