Updates on Evusheld Dosage per FDA (USA)

[Granna45]

On 2/24/22 the FDA announced that a larger dose of Evusheld is needed. Here is the link to the article: fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-a...

[DRM18]

Thanks for the link!

I was lucky to get Evusheld in January; I highly doubt I'll be able to simply "contact my provider and ask for another dose": kinda like requesting a second winning lottery ticket after already having stumbled upon one--they're not exactly in high supply ...

Early adopters rarely win lol

--DRM

[Granna45 in reply to DRM18]

I agree! I had mine January 26 so we are in the same position.

[DRM18 in reply to Granna45]

Well, at least I got 2250 antibodies outta the transaction, so that's something.

Hope you did too!

[Granna45 in reply to DRM18]

WOW! That's wonderful!! I haven't had my antibodies checked again since I got Evusheld. Your numbers make me want to have them checked now!! Good for you!!

[DRM18 in reply to Granna45]

I'll be checked monthly for six months.

I guess at my next check I'll "request my additional dose"--and watch everyone erupt in uproarious laughter ...

[WinJ3 in reply to Granna45]

I agree. It was an insane struggle to get mine. I can’t imagine asking for additional dosage 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Jillinill]

Not the best news this week, but certainly not the worst news for all in Europe. I was in a lottery at Northwestern and lost, after being the first person to ask for it at my appointment Dec 9th. My doctor said I should be able to get selected in the next round in 2 weeks, but I had to let him know that the dose has now doubled and they urged everyone who got the half dose to get a second dose. Now I doubt I'll ever see it. I called a few other local hospitals and they are all on lottery systems. It's wonderful to know that antibody levels are at high titre after injection. I'll try to imagine what that's like.

[Granna45 in reply to Jillinill]

Maybe they will still give the half dose. The person who got good antibodies had only gotten that half dose. So get what you can. I hope you get it in this next lottery. ❤️

[Jonquiljo]

Gee, it took the FDA almost 3 months to figure that out? This halves the number of Evusheld doses that any country has stockpiled and puts everyone with what is now a half-dose of Evusheld in a position where they need a booster of the monoclonal.

Showing a "Covid spike" antibody titre after Evusheld does not mean much - because these Covid antibody tests measure the original Covid virus spike protein. If you come up with a score of 2200 (as example) you likely have less potency against omicron BA.1 or Ba., etc.

No one has adjusted the tests to match the current variant of concern.

Omicron needs to be made the new "standard" in antibody production, vaccine effectiveness, and monoclonal effectiveness.

A good write up on the new omicron strains is written by W. Hazeltine (a top research scientist). See ... forbes.com/sites/williamhas...

We need more people like Hazeltine on the bandwagon -- not infectious disease people who have minimal molecular biology skills.

[Justasheet1]

🙁 well so much for that bit of protection.

[Jonquiljo]

Monoclonals change in protective ability each time they are confronted with a new variant.

Antivirals require a major change in a conserved region of the virus for a variant to evade them.

I still contend that all immunocompromised people should have a box of Paxlovid at home to immediately take at the first positive signs of Covid. That would be the safest way to For us to live with this virus.

Expensive — yes. Sensible — yes!

If we are to live with vaccines made against viruses that haven't circulated in this world in well over a year, we have to be careful.

This holds true especially for those of us in the USA, as PCR tests are dismally lacking and take many days to return a result when you can get them. We can’t count on lateral flow tests that may not return a positive result until at least 3 days into the infection, leaving very little time to procure Covid from government appointed sources.

[Granna45 in reply to Jonquiljo]

Thanks for your expert advice. Maybe soon we will be able to get the Paxlovid to have at home. I remember doing that way back when and we got Tamiflu to keep at home just in case. I am certainly going to talk to my PCP and my pharmacist to see if that might be possible, especially with the whole country doing away with the mask mandates and acting as if it's no big deal any longer.

[Justasheet1 in reply to Granna45]

Granna,

The government controls it and you have to test positive to receive.

Your pharmacist and PCP can’t help you or they risk their livelihoods.

But maybe one day.

Jeff

[Jonquiljo in reply to Justasheet1]

I know of PCP’s that have lied. Of course we can lie and the PCP can “believe” us. The pharmacist has to have a correct Rx given by a Dr who is supposedly following the rules.

But if we lie ... no one will send us to jail.

[Justasheet1 in reply to Jonquiljo]

Jon,

I have no problem with “stretching the truth “ myself but unless my doctor initiated the conversation, I couldn’t ask someone else to.

I put most of my Doc’s on a pedestal.

Jeff

[Jonquiljo in reply to Granna45]

If it were me, I’d talk to my PCP and not my pharmacist. Going by current rules, someone has to lie and break the rules. Your PCP might do that as they have an ongoing relationship with you.

A pharmacist is most likely most constrained by the rules. They can’t break them as they are dispensing federally paid for medicines and are ultimately responsible for their disposition.

I know of PCP’s that have lied. Just not mine — yet.

[Justasheet1 in reply to Jonquiljo]

Jon,

I guess I should be thankful that the wild original version and Delta seem to be extinct.

The current variant seems to lack some of the punch of past versions but clearly I’m not betting my life on it.

I’ve always felt drugs of some manner to tame this virus is our way back to worrying about colds, flu and of course CLL.

But is the will and money still there? Probably not until a nasty variant emerges.

Jeff

[KMac1969]

Thank you for this!!

[shmbak]

My husband got a call from the hospital that gave him the first dose in February asking if he wanted the make-up dose, and he of course said yes. Well, he got that this morning, but afterwards they discovered they'd given him the full amount (not the half amount he was supposed to get.) Hopefully getting double what he should have gotten won't hurt him. They gave him a phone number if he has any problems. Anyway, be sure the nurse giving a second set of injections understands you're only supposed to get 150 mg, not 300 mg if you already had the original dosage.