New COVID Drug Sotrovimab To Be Offered To People Categorized In High-Risk Groups

People who are having problems getting COVID-19 jabs due to complications caused by other health-related illnesses will soon be addressed.

It appears there is a new drug available called Sotrovimab. The said drug is a monoclonal antibody given as a transfusion to transplant recipients, cancer patients and other high-risk groups, BBC.com reported.

It is reportedly advised that the drug be given immediately once symptoms show. This would help prevent them from getting seriously ill. Better yet, initial tests have shown that Sotrovimab can also offer these individuals added protection against the new Omicron variant.

"These new drugs have an important role to play," Prof. Steven Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, said. "If you test positive and are at high risk then we will be contacting you, and, if eligible, you will be able to get access to these new treatments."

This update should address the cases of people who are at high risk and in hospitals. At the moment, cheap steroid dexamethasone and the arthritis drug Tocilizumab are among the ones being administered.

But thanks to the new COVID drug, vulnerable patients can now get a solution to these concerns at an earlier stage of the infection.

Developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Vir Biotechnology, sotrovimab will allegedly reduce the risk of hospitalization in high-risk patients by 79%.

The drug works by binding to the spike protein on the outside of the virus. This prevents it from entering human cells, preventing it from replicating in the body.

The drug is allegedly most effective if taken in the first five days after infection. It is likely to be given in clinics or to outpatients in hospitals.

It has been approved for use in vulnerable groups - such as those with cancer, diabetes or heart disease.

Sotrovimab is the second antibody treatment for Covid to be approved by regulators in the UK after another drug - Ronapreve - was cleared for use earlier this year.