First batch of long-acting antibody drug arrives next week
The first batch of the long-acting antibody drug Evusheld will arrive in Thailand next Monday and will be immediately administered to kidney failure and organ transplant patients, the Public Health Ministry said.
Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Disease Control Department, said on Monday that 7,000 of the 257,500 doses ordered will be delivered on July 25.
The drug will be prescribed for chronic kidney disease patients who require dialysis or immunosuppressants as well as organ transplant patients. He said one dose of Evusheld should provide immunity from Covid-19 for six months.
The drug will also be applied to patients above age 12 who are underweight and those who have not been able to get their Covid-19 vaccines.
The Public Health Ministry opted to purchase 257,500 doses of Evusheld from AstraZeneca, cutting back its vaccine order from 60 million doses to 35.4 million doses.
Evusheld will be distributed to state-run hospitals nationwide.
Opas pointed out that 98 per cent of Covid-19 deaths were of vulnerable people and some of them succumbed because they had taken their booster shot more than three months ago.