COVID-19 Subvariant Spreads Fast in THE US, Europe; Study Suggests Evusheld Drug May Not Be Effective as Antibody Treatment

There are many reasons why a key antibody treatment may not be effective in preventing or treating COVID-19 in the months to come.

Forbes reported that the BA.4.6, another subvariant of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, has been spreading fast in the United States and Europe.

At the same time, there is evidence that Evusheld may not be as effective against BA4.6 as it has been against the previous subvariants of the new coronavirus.

This comes amidst concerns about "yet another late-Fall-Winter" surge in COVID-19 cases, the leading media outlet also reported.

With many of the so-called "BA" subvariants running around, one may have lost track of what version of the COVID-19 virus is doing.

Omicron Subvariants

The Omicron BA.5 subvariant remains the "alpha-dog of subvariants" in the US, which comprise 79.2 percent of reported cases, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report specified.

The BA.4.6 is still like the "new kid on the block." This does not mean that it is a part of the popular boy group but has emerged in prominence.

The growth has been quite alarming, though. Last week, the BA.4.6 constituted 13.6 percent of all tested samples for COVID-19 in the US, up from the week earlier.

The number reported and recorded is no longer surprising, given the number of individuals who are not maintaining any COVID-19 precautions anymore.

Such laxity has enabled the virus to essentially be like the Charlie Runkle character on the Californication TV show and engage in "reproductive activities" somewhat unfettered.

Efficacy of Evusheld Drug

With a lot of reproduction going on, the high rate of mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 need to continue generating more and more variants and subvariants.

Consequently, once useful antibody treatments like bamlanivimab/etesevimab antibody combo of Eli Lilly, Regen-Cov of Regeneron, and sotrovimab of GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology have gone the way of the so-called "low-riding jeans" not offering enough coverage anymore.

That has left AstraZeneca's Evusheld, a combination of tixagevimab and cilgavimab. This drug received Emergency Use Authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration in December last year for pre-exposure prophylaxis for those who have weaker immune systems.

Meaning, if one is immunocompromised, he can get Evusheld before exposure to the COVID-19 virus to help shield against the infection.

Spike Proteins

Now, the research described in a pre-print uploaded to BioRxiv showed that the combination of tixagevimab and cilgavimab has fully lost neutralizing activity against BA.4.6, BA.4.7, and BA.5.9 subvariants.

Researchers from the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and National Taiwan University performed the research.

In a lab, the research team looked at how well tixagevimab and cilgavimab could prevent spike proteins of different SARS-CoV-2 variants and subvariants from binding to receptors that usually exist on human cell surfaces.

If one will recall, spike proteins are studying the surface of SARS-CoV-2, making COVID-19 look like the end of a BDSM mace, a mace type that one moves to the trunk of his car before driving others around.

Such spike proteins can latch on to receptors on the surface of the cells and then help; after that, the virus penetrates the cells.

Related information about the Omicron variant is shown on Whiteboard Doctor's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on COVID-19 in Science Times.