Study suggests Evushield protects against omicron

Plus: Austria reinstituting mask mandates as Covid surges

AstraZeneca’s antibody cocktail Evushield has been a lifeline for immunocompromised patients since it was authorized for emergency use in December. That’s because for this group of patients, vaccines don’t always elicit the immune response that’s intended. For these patients, Evushield works to help prevent Covid-19 infection, a disease that immunocompromised people are particularly vulnerable to. In a clinical study, the company reported that the antibody drug was 83% effective at preventing patients from developing symptomatic Covid-19. But that study took place before omicron took hold in the United States, a variant that’s shown some immune escape properties. 

Today, researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine reported that Evushield was also active against the omicron variant and provided protection against infection in mice that have been genetically modified to have a human immune system. This provides strong evidence that the drug can also be protective against omicron. “The findings further support Evushield as a potential important option to help protect vulnerable patients such as the immunocompromised who could face poor outcomes if they were to become infected with COVID-19,” AstraZeneca SVP John Perez said in a press release. 

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What Else We Are Reading

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• How PhD programmes embraced hybrid working during the pandemic (Nature)

• The Covid-19 vaccine market is getting crowded — as demand begins to wane (Stat)