Do we really need a new monoclonal antibody for Covid-19? Elizabeth Tracey reports

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Another monoclonal antibody against Covid-19 has been developed and appears to work in reducing severe disease and hospitalization. This one is unique, however, according to Brian Garibaldi, a critical care medicine expert at Johns Hopkins.

Garibaldi: The interesting thing about the new monoclonal antibody, sotrovimab, this monoclonal antibody was developed using antibodies from individuals who were infected with Sars-CoV1. It targets a more conserved region of the spike protein and the hope would be that this type of monoclonal antibody would be less likely to come across viruses that are resistant to its action. So far we have not seen delta being resistant to the other currently available monoclonals but you can imagine that we might encounter a variant down the road that might be.  :29

Garibaldi says monoclonal antibodies are still limited to those who come forward for treatment within a few days of infection, and must be administered in settings that allow for observation as well as protection of others from Covid-19. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.