By Chandrayee Roy Choudhury, Canada: A treatment for COVID-19 could prove pivotal as the only monoclonal antibody drug that appears to be effective against the highly transmissible Omicron variant, which is rapidly contributing to record case numbers in nearly every Canadian province.
The sotrovimab drug by GlaxoSmithKline was approved for use by Health Canada back in July and is only given to COVID-19 patients at high risk of severe illness leading to hospitalization, or dying because of age or medical conditions. It is administered intravenously.
To date, Canada has received 10,000 doses of sotrovimab from Parma, Italy, Public Services
There is an incredible global demand for this drug, considering it’s the only effective monoclonal for COVID-19 with Omicron,” said Dr. Zain Chagla, associate professor at McMaster University.