Immunocompromised people should receive treatment that would prevent them from being infected with COVID-19.

[dianthus101]

Many people including cancer patients, people on immunosuppressive medications, transplant recipients, people with primary and secondary remain extremely vulnerable to Covid, even after vaccination. For them lockdown has not ended and if anything, it is even worse than 2020 as COVID-19 infections are very high in the community. Some immunosuppressed people have barely been outside since 2020 and the psychological distress is enormous.

I'm not sure if people realise but an antibody treatment (Evusheld) that would prevent them from being infected was authorised by the UK regulator authority (MHRA) in March this year. Despite the fact that the evidence for this treatment is greater than it was for the COVID-19 vaccines (when they were rolled out) it is still not available in the UK (privately or via the NHs) even though it is available in 32 other countries including the US and many European countries. This is because the UK government have not bought any. There doesn't seem to be much publicity about it and I know many immunocompromised people feel very forgotten.

bloodcancer.org.uk/news/leading-charities-and-clinicians-urge-government-to-secure-evusheld/

The issue may be that the vaccine has further deteriorated the immune system, hence why multiple vaccinated people keep getting covid over and over again

Not for the group of patients in question. The vaccine does not work because of the pre-existing condition.

Evusheld is not a vaccine

Sorry, I didn't see a post where someone was saying that, and wrongly assumed you meant mine.

Though I've just looked back and think I see what I might have written wrongly.

The cost should be - ie is expected to be - no more than £800 (that's based on various publications giving estimated cost, and £800 is the highest, therefore it should not exceed that)

Then I said, and I should have made greater separation, that that is approx the cost of 2 nights basic hospital admission, which may be a factor in assessing the cost/benefit

There's no evidence that the immune system “deteriorates” following vaccination!. The reason it hasn't worked for some people even after five doses is because they are very immunocompromised. (only immunocompromised people have received five doses).

The prophylactic treatments have been tested properly with regard to efficacy and safety. That's not what NICE are doing now. They are deciding whether the NHS should pay for the treatment and who should have it on the NHS.
That wouldn't necessarily be unreasonable if they had started as soon as the drug was licenced. This is what normally happens with most new drugs considered important but for some reason nothing happened for four months. It also doesn't explain why it is not available privately. Many immunocompromised people would pay £800 so they can have a life like the rest of the population. Why shouldn't they have that choice?

Regarding Paxlovid, there has been a rebound affect in some people but that hasn't led to serious outcomes and if anything it may just mean people need to take it for longer. That also costs £800 for a treatment by the way, so another good reason to give immunocompromised people prophylactic treatment so they don't have to keep taking it.

Absolutely spot on @dianthus101.
Many immuno suppressed people would love to have their lives back, even if they took the normal precautions that they did before and Evusheld will do this

Evusheld was approved in UK in March 2022.

Exactly

But nearly 5 months on the government has yet to buy and provide any

It's a disgrace.

Procurement action is needed now if there is to be a realistic prospect of administering it in the autumn to give protection over the winter.

Question on timelines

• if it's really impossible to get authorisation for rapid roll out of a drug, other than via the (now expired) covid provisions, how come the monkeypox vaccine is in use on NHS?

Is this double standards?

Yes, double standards. It's not true at all drugs have to be “authorised” by NICE before they are even available. NICE don't even make decisions for Scotland and Evusheld is not available there either. They certainly don't make recommendations on whether a drug should be prescribed privately. Also, NICE normally start assessing a drug before it's even authorised by the MHRA so they make a recommendation as soon as possible.
They've only just started looking at Evusheld four months after authorization.

It's a no to Evusheld in the UK.

Very short sighted view. Don't the DoH ever learn?

Yes, it's very disappointing and the lack of transparency is frustrating. It seems immunologists and other consultants are confused about what exactly the government are waiting for with regard to evidence. There's a lot more evidence for Evusheld vs omicron than there were for the vaccines or treatments when they were rolled out. As the immunologist in this article says:

“In many countries across the world, the licensed monoclonals are a key element of their safety net. It’s a little hard to judge what was the divergent evidence appraisal that has led to such a different outcome for the vulnerable in the UK”
www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/12/uk-decision-not-to-buy-covid-drug-evusheld-disappoints-charities

To quote from twitter

”One of the core problems with the recent DHSC decision is this: some panel of unnamed people as produced an unpublished report from a meeting with no available minutes that contradicts the actual published evidence and on which the fate of 500,000 people rests”

This

Just ugh 😩 I hate this Government… I see the Moderna vaccine has been approved today but yet again where does this help those that are severely immune compromised?

it makes no difference whatsoever to those whose immune systems form no response to vaccination.

Just watching the news now. They are clueless!

My immune compromised friend died of Covid yesterday. I bet his widow and 3 kids wish he had been offered this :-(

Condolences @ItsRainingPens it’s so hard to accept these circumstances.

@ItsRainingPens