News and resources

Evusheld for pre-exposure prevention of COVID-19 

In February of this year, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) granted provisional approval for tixagevimab and cilgavimab, also known as Evusheld, for the prevention of COVID-19 in people who are at risk of infection but have not been exposed to the virus. This is known as pre-exposure prevention of COVID-19. It can be administered to people aged 12 years and older and weighing at least 40 kilograms; and

• who have moderate-to-severe immune compromise due to a medical condition, are receiving immunosuppressive medications, or treatments that make it likely that they will not mount an adequate immune response to COVID-19 vaccination; or
• for whom vaccination is not recommended due to a history of severe adverse reaction to a COVID‐19 vaccine or COVID‐19 vaccine component.

Evusheld is administered as two separate, sequential injections of two long-acting monoclonal antibodies, tixagevimab and cilgavimab. It is a pre-exposure prevention that is administered between vaccination and the potential need for oral treatments.

These antibodies bind to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus at two different sites to stop the virus from entering the body’s cells and causing infection.

The National Medical Stockpile (NMS) distributes these treatments to state and territory governments for use in their health systems.

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Queensland COVID-19 update

• On Friday 11 March, there were 4801 new cases in Queensland
• 19 people are currently in ICU in Queensland
• Of these new cases, 168 cases are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• There are 2670 active COVID-19 cases in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland
• 13 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland have died of COVID-19.

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Omicron sub-variant cases rising in NSW

Authorities are concerned at the spread of an Omicron sub-variant of COVID-19 (BA2), which is believed to be driving rising case numbers in NSW. NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Thursday said the BA.2 sub-variant, thought to be more infectious than the BA.1 lineage, was becoming the dominant strain but evidence is unclear whether it is more severe than other variants. The state recorded a significant spike in Covid cases on Thursday, with daily cases jumping by more than 3,000 compared with the previous 24-hour reporting period.

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