AstraZeneca therapeutic protects from COVID exposure
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Scientists at AstraZeneca developed a therapeutic designed to protect against a COVID-19 infection.
Evusheld it combines two monoclonal antibody medications into one injection that is administered by a doctor.
News 8 spoke with Dr. Christopher Doehring, vice president of medical affairs at Franciscan Health, who explains how Evusheld works to protect people from exposure.
“It’s something that can be given every six months to give (people) passive immunity,” he said “So, you would actually give it to them before you knew they had COVID and it would ideally mimic the type of immunity your body has when you get vaccinated.”
Doehring says Evusheld isn’t for everyone. It’s specifically meant to help protect high-risk groups from getting exposed to the virus. These are people who are immunocompromised because of a health condition or are on medication that will prevent them from generating antibodies against natural infection or from developing a strong enough response to the COVID vaccine.
An example of a person eligible for Evusheld would be someone with cancer undergoing chemotherapy.