Imdevimab

Despite being deauthorized by the FDA on Jan. 24, 2022, due to omicron variant inefficiency, two monoclonal antibody treatments were administered more than 158,000 times to patients with COVID-19, according to a study in JAMA Network Open.

First, let me say that I clearly do not know how the pandemic will end, but after considerable and ongoing study of this question, I am convinced it will not magically disappear.

Phase 3 trial results of Regeneron’s casirivimab and imdevimab regimen showed an 81.6% reduced risk for COVID-19 over 2 to 8 months of follow up compared with placebo. A report on the data was the top story in infectious disease last week.

For some time now, we have been discussing COVID-19 as two epidemics. One is the tragic and unnecessary epidemic among those unwilling to be vaccinated who are pushing our fragile health care system to the limit, unnecessarily spreading the infections throughout the community, including to the most vulnerable. The other is one of breakthrough infections in those who have done what they can to protect themselves by being partially or fully vaccinated.