Over 120 clinicians representing 17 different clinical specialities, across all 4 nations, have released a clinical consensus statement – saying that there is sufficient evidence that the Covid-19 preventative Evusheld would have clinical benefit to people who are immunocompromised and recommending that a protective antibody treatment program should be delivered as soon as possible.
RAIRDA ( Rare Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease Association) says:
For many immunocompromised people, the first lockdown in 2020 never ended, which is why in addition to the clinical consensus statement, alongside 18 charities, including our member charities Vasculitis UK & Lupus UK we have signed an open letter to Steve Barclay MP, urging the Government to buy Evusheld to protect the people they represent who remain vulnerable to Covid-19.
You can read the letter here.
The UK Government told the BBC that it won’t make Evusheld available until a decision has been made around its use by NICE. NICE decides what treatments are available on the NHS. They look at the cost of a treatment and how effective it is.
NICE are currently consulting around the effectiveness of Evusheld. Vasculitis UK is one of the charities involved in this consultation. This process usually takes a number of months, meaning a decision is unlikely to be reached until sometime in early 2023.