Scientists in the UK are testing a new antibody treatment that can give people instant immunity after being exposed to Covid-19 and preventing disease.
The drug would offer immediate and long-term protection to patients when it would be too late to offer a vaccine, which could save thousands of lives.
It could be given as emergency treatment to hospitalized patients, nursing home residents, and college students to help reduce the spread of the virus.
People who live with someone who has caught COVID or have been exposed to it can be injected with the drug to prevent them from becoming infected, even if they have not had a coronavirus vaccine.
British scientists at University College London Hospitals NHS (UCLH) have already injected ten people with the drug as part of the new trial called Storm Chaser, with the aim of testing the new treatment on 1,125 people worldwide. Participants received two consecutive doses of the drug.
They expect treatment to provide protection against Covid-19 between six months and a year.
Scientists in the UK are testing a new antibody treatment with the potential to give instant immunity to people after they have been exposed to Covid-19 and prevent disease. Pictured above a patient from a hospital in Houston, Texas
UCLH scientists have also launched a second clinical trial called Provent, to examine the use of the antibody for people who may not benefit from vaccines, such as patients with a compromised immune system or those at higher risk. of Covid-19 infection to factors such as age and existing conditions.
UCLH injected the ten people, including medical staff and college students, as part of the Storm Chaser trial into its new vaccine research center after the study entered phase three of the trials on Dec. 2.
Key groups in the trial include health workers, students living in shared housing, and patients who have recently been exposed to anyone with Covid-19, as well as those in long-term care, military, and industry personnel. , such as factory workers.
In the first trial, the antibody, known as AZD7442, was developed by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which has also created a vaccine with Oxford University awaiting approval for use by the regulatory agency. of Medicines and Health Products (MHRA).
Meanwhile, the elderly and people with long-term care, as well as people with diseases such as cancer and HIV, will be recruited to take part in the Provent trial.
UCLH virologist Dr Catherine Houlihan, who heads the Storm Chaser trial, said: “We know that this combination of antibodies can neutralize the virus, so we hope to find that giving this treatment by injection can lead to a immediate protection against the development of Covid.19 in people who have been exposed, when it would be too late to offer a vaccine “.
Dr. Houlihan said the treatment would be an “exciting addition” to the efforts being tested and developed to fight the corovavirus, The Guardian reports.
“If we can show that this treatment works and prevent people exposed to the virus from developing Covid-19, it would be an exciting addition to the arsenal of weapons that is being developed to fight this terrible virus,” he said.
UCLH infectious disease consultant Dr Nicky Longley, who heads the university’s Provent section, said: “We want to reassure anyone for whom a vaccine may not work that we can offer an alternative that be just as protective. ”
Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia and an expert on infectious diseases, said the new Storm Chaser trial treatment could save thousands of lives.
“If you have problems with outbreaks in settings such as nursing homes or if you have patients who are at risk for serious covidis, such as the elderly, this could save many lives. If confirmed in phase 3 testing, it could have an important role in keeping people alive who would otherwise die. So it should be a big deal, ‘he said.
“If you have an outbreak in a nursing home, you may want to use these types of antibody cocktails to control the outbreak as soon as possible by giving the drug to everyone in the nursing home – residents and staff – who don’t.” has not been vaccinated.
“Similarly, if you live with your older grandmother and you or someone in the house gets infected, you could give her that to protect her.”
The possible breakthrough in instant immunity treatment is welcome news in the U.S. and around the world, as nearly 119,000 Americans spent Christmas Day in hospital with COVID-19 and 1,541 more deaths were recorded. .
But according to the COVID Monitoring Project, on Friday 20 states did not provide any updates to their numbers, meaning the actual number of deaths nationwide could be much higher.
Although total hospitalizations fell to 118,948 on Friday after setting a new record of 120,151 the day before, the seven-day average rose to a new high on Christmas Day, reaching 117,029.
124,498 new cases were registered on Friday, although the COVID Monitoring Project warned that the data had been affected by the holiday closures.
The average of seven days of hospitalizations rose to a new high on Christmas Day, reaching 117,029, as nearly 1119,000 patients with COVID-19 spent their holidays in hospital.
Across the country, there have been more than 18.7 million Americans infected with coronavirus and 330,246 dead.
Among the states that did not publish any cases on Friday of new cases and deaths was California, where the outbreak has already led to the health system breaking down, after reporting 300,000 new cases last week.
Earlier this week, it became the first state to surpass two million cases, as experts remain concerned about a possible additional rise caused by Christmas and New Year travelers.