As the world continues the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has listed Regeneron antibody-drug cocktail, casirivimab and imdevimab, for treatments of patients.
The listing of Regeneron by the global health agency implies that the number of COVID-19 vaccines listed for the cure of the virus has gone up by one. AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines have been the most administered since vaccines were developed to combat the pandemic.
Head of Clinical Care at the World Health Organisation, Dr Janet Diaz, during the announcement of this latest move, described the cocktail as a major breakthrough in the treatment of COVID-19.
WHAT THIS MEANS:
- The world now has a variety of vaccines with which they can tackle the virus
- The introduction of Regeneron, the WHO said, will lead to a reduction in mortality rates across the world.
- The WHO also recommends the drug as a therapeutic for patients with mild, moderate symptoms, as it reduces the need for hospitalisation if they are at high risk.
- The recommendations for the adoption of Regeneron were based on data from a British study of 9,000 patients in June 2021, which found that the therapy reduced deaths in hospitalised patients whose immune systems had failed to produce a response
- The WHO is negotiating with the makers of the vaccine for a reduction in its price. This is part of efforts to enable low and middle-income countries to afford the vaccine.
According to the WHO’s report, as of 24 September 2021, there have been 230,418,451 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 4,724,876 deaths.
As of 23 September 2021, a total of 5,874,934,542 vaccine doses have been administered globally.
