Monday, 25 January 2021

'Passive Vaccinations' in Germany

Germany have purchased many doses of the expensive but, still as yet experimental, cocktails of monoclonal (manufactured in the laboratory) antibodies, trialled in the treatment of Covid-19 infections (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/25/germany-to-administer-covid-antibody-cocktailsdrugs-used-treat-donald-trump). The cocktails purchased are Bamlanivimab (produced by Eli Lilly) and REGN-COV-2 (manufactured by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals). The cocktails seemed to work on Donald Trump but proper evaluations have not yet been carried out. The technique is called 'passive vaccination', as the patient doesn't manufacture their own antibodies. The cocktail's antibodies directly attack the viral spike proteins. The cocktails will largely be employed in specialist clinics, to treat people with weak immune systems, who couldn't show a robust response to a vaccine. People undergoing transplants (taking immunosuppressives) and AIDS victims are likely recipients. Cocktails might even be given, in emergencies, to lactating mothers, as they cannot be vaccinated. It would be appreciated, if the German clinics took the opportunity to do some controlled studies, assessing the efficacies of these preparations.

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