A new antibody treatment with the potential to give people instant immunity after being exposed to Covid-19 and preventing disease is being tested by scientists in the UK.
The drug would offer immediate and long-term protection to patients when it was too late to offer a vaccine, potentially saving thousands of lives.
It can be administered as an 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 contracted or been exposed to COVID can receive an injection of the drug to prevent them from becoming infected, even if they have not received a coronavirus vaccine.
British scientists at University College London Hospitals NHS (UCLH) have already injected the drug into 10 people as part of the new study 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 hope that the treatment will provide protection against Covid-19 for a period of six months to a year.
A new antibody treatment with the potential to give people instant immunity after being exposed to Covid-19 and preventing disease is being tested by scientists in the UK. Photographed above, a patient in a hospital in Houston, Texas
UCLH scientists have also started 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 compromised immune systems or those at increased risk of Covid-19 infection due to factors such as age and existing conditions.
UCLH injected the ten people – including medical staff and university students – as part of the Storm Chaser trial at its new vaccine research center after the study entered phase three trials on December 2.
The main test groups include healthcare workers, students living in shared accommodation and patients who have recently been exposed to someone with Covid-19, as well as those on long-term treatment, military and industry employees, such as factory workers.
In the first trial, the antibody, known as AZD7442, was developed by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which also created a vaccine with the University of Oxford that is awaiting approval for use by the Regulatory Agency for Medicines and Health Products (MHRA).
Meanwhile, older people and long-term care, as well as people with diseases like cancer and HIV, will be recruited to participate in the Provent study.
UCLH virologist Dr. Catherine Houlihan, who is leading the Storm Chaser study, 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 immediate protection against development Covid- 19 in people who were exposed – when it would be too late to offer a vaccine. ‘
Dr. Houlihan said the treatment would be an “exciting addition” to the tried and tested efforts to fight corovavirus, reports The Guardian.
“If we can prove 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 being developed to combat this terrible virus,” she said.
UCLH infectious disease consultant Dr Nicky Longley, who is leading the university part of Provent, said: ‘We want to reassure anyone for whom a vaccine might not work that we can offer an equally protective alternative.’
Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia and a specialist in infectious diseases, said the new treatment of the Storm Chaser trial could save thousands of lives.
‘If you are dealing with outbreaks in settings such as nursing homes, or if you have patients who are particularly at risk of contracting severe Covid, such as the elderly, then it can save many lives. As long as it is confirmed in the Phase 3 tests, it can play a big role in keeping alive people who would otherwise die. So it must be a big deal, ‘he said.
‘If you had an outbreak in a nursing home, you may want to use these types of antibody cocktails to control the outbreak as quickly as possible, giving the drug to everyone in the nursing home – residents and staff – who did not’ haven’t been vaccinated.
– Likewise, if you live with your elderly grandmother and you or someone else in the house becomes infected, you can give it to her to protect her.
The potential breakthrough in the treatment of instant immunity is welcome news in the United States and around the world, as nearly 119,000 Americans spent Christmas Day in the hospital with COVID-19 and another 1,541 deaths were recorded.
But according to the COVID Tracking Project, 20 states did not provide updates on their numbers on Friday, meaning that the actual number of deaths across the country could be much higher.
While general hospitalizations dropped to 118,948 on Friday after setting a new record of 120,151 the previous day, the seven-day average rose to a new high once again on Christmas Day, reaching 117,029.
As of Friday, there were 124,498 new cases reported, but the COVID Tracking Project warned that the data was affected by holiday closings.
The seven-day average for hospitalizations rose to a new record once again on Christmas Day, reaching 117,029, with almost 1,119,000 COVID-19 patients spending the holiday at the hospital
Across the country, there were more than 18.7 million Americans infected with coronavirus and 330,246 deaths.
Among the states that did not deliver an update on new cases and deaths on Friday was California, where the outbreak has already brought the health care system to a breaking point after reporting 300,000 new cases last week.
Earlier this week, it became the first state to overcome two million cases, as experts remain concerned about a potential increase caused by travelers over Christmas and New Year.