AstraZeneca’s Preventative COVID Treatment Likely Not Effective Against XBB.1.5

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said last Friday that AstraZeneca’s preventative monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 is likely ineffective against the XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant due to its similarity to other mutations of the virus that are also not neutralized by the treatment. In a statement, the FDA said it “does not anticipate that Evusheld will neutralize XBB.1.5.” Evusheld is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies that has been authorized as a pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent COVID-19 infections in those who are moderately to severely immunocompromised. Learn more from The Hill here. See the next article to learn more about XBB.1.5.