PERTH, Australia – As the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 sweeps across the globe, drugs like Roche Holding AG’s interleukin-6 receptor inhibitor Actemra (tocilizumab) are being used, often off-label, to treat serious cases of COVID-19. That usage, however, is resulting in serious drug shortages that may leave some without treatment options.
The Biden administration’s rollout of a COVID-19 booster plan before the FDA has even approved a booster admittedly is a “judgment call,” U.S. health officials acknowledged Aug. 18. But rather than a judgment call, “the introduction of booster doses should be evidence-driven and targeted to the population groups in greatest need,” the World Health Organization advised in an interim statement issued a week before the White House COVID-19 Response Team’s announcement.
When SARS-CoV-2 first emerged in 2020, with respiratory symptoms as the most obvious feature of infection, the most obvious comparison was to influenza. COVID-19, of course, was never just another flu.
LONDON – The latest data from the large-scale randomized U.K. COVID-19 infection survey confirm vaccines are less effective against the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that is now dominant across the U.S., Europe and elsewhere in the world.
The FDA’s emergency use authorization (EUA) program is still active in the area of tests and test kits, which is due in part by the emergence of the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the associated warnings that the effectiveness of vaccines may be declining. One example of the sustained emphasis on testing is the EUA granted to Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. for two PCR test kits that can detect the latest variants of the virus, a demonstration that the demand for these updated tests seems unlikely to ebb anytime soon.
Plans for offering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots in the U.S. took a big step forward Aug. 18, as Health and Human Services (HHS) public health and medical experts laid out their intention to offer booster shots across the country for people 18 and older beginning the week of Sept. 20 and starting eight months after an individual's second dose.
Exevir Bio NV is honing its attack on the crowded market for COVID-19 antibodies, beginning clinical development of a potential subcutaneously administered drug targeting outpatients with early symptoms who are at risk of further progression.
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