This morning the BBC are reporting that the Department of Health has ruled out “for now” buying doses of the only preventative antibody treatment against COVID for people who have a weakened immune system. They have referred the matter to NICE but they will not rule until APRIL next year.

This all smacks of being a political decision, part of the gaslighting of the immune compromised community, as why would we need to prevent COVID if it is “no longer a problem”? But why not protect by giving us the antibodies that we do not make ourselves? This is discrimination against those who do not respond to vaccines, by denying us the same protection others get from vaccines.

The decision will be devastating to patients like myself and many doctors who have been calling for Evusheld to be offered on the NHS.

People with blood cancer and other forms of immune compromise still continue to die at an alarming rate from this disease and so many feel condemned to being effectively imprisoned in their own homes. Hundred of thousands of us still severely limit our interactions with the outside world because we know that COVID can be lethal for us.

This is a decision about money and a reluctance to spend it to protect the most vulnerable. Rather than being honest enough to say that my life and your life is not worth around £800 every few months to politicians, they have erected a dishonest smokescreen by questioning whether this drug works. It is still not even possible for us to buy this drug privately if we are lucky enough to afford it.

It has never been the job of the Department of Health to question whether or not a drug works.

To do so undermines the independence of the MHRA’s ruling back in March that this drug DOES work, and also ignores the mountain of published data that shows that Evusheld continues to effectively prevent infections with all the current variants of COVID19.

Over 30 other countries disagree with our government’s decision and have made this drug available to their vulnerable citizens. Whilst politicians are distracted by who our next prime minister will be they have condemned us to continue to feel disconnected from society and to be at an unacceptable risk of death.

For us the COVID19 nightmare has no signs of ending.

The fact that we might be able to get treatments if we do catch COVID is not really enough. It is like asking us to play a game of Russian roulette by not intervening at all until we catch covid. Yes, those post-infection drugs do work, and if we are lucky enough to be able to navigate the system to get them, it is as though the number of bullets have been reduced. But Evusheld helps us to avoid catching COVID in the first place.

Covid hasn’t caught me yet. I hope to continue to avoid it. Being denied the one treatment that could help me in this quest is a huge blow to me and to many others.

Helen Rowntree director of research at Blood Cancer Uk said on the BBC this morning “There will be many people with blood cancer and other conditions which mean that they are immune suppressed who are waking up to this news this this morning feeling absolutely devastated. We continue to hear words like “abandoned” and “left behind” again and again and again in the contact we have with people who will be affected by this decision”

More information on Evusheld from the manufacturer

Blood Cancer UK also issued the following statement

Blood Cancer UK respond to Government decision not to buy essential Covid-19 preventative Evusheld, leaving thousands vulnerable

The decision was announced in an official statement sent to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme which said:

“Following a robust review of the available data, our clinical experts advise there is currently insufficient data on the duration of protection offered by Evusheld in relation to the Omicron variant and the government will not be procuring any doses at this time.

“We are determined to support the most vulnerable as we live with Covid and immunocompromised patients are a priority for other treatments, access to free tests and vaccination. 

“We continue to explore the market for promising treatments that could prevent infection, to add to the antibody and antiviral treatments that are already offered on the NHS. We remain in close touch with all relevant parties.”

Helen Rowntree, Director of Research, Services and Engagement, said:

“We’re deeply disappointed to hear that today, the Government has announced that they have no plans to buy Evusheld. Many of our community will be left feeling let-down and vulnerable.

“We’re urging the Government to meet with us and outline their rationale for this decision. For months now Evusheld has been used in countries including the US and Israel and there is a significant body of evidence showing that this drug can reduce the chance of dying from Covid in those who are most vulnerable. The decision today will mean that many people who are immunocompromised will be left with no other option than to isolate themselves from their loved ones.

“Time and time again during the pandemic our community have felt forgotten, and this decision is yet another example of this. We are calling on the Government to urgently review their decision, so people who are immunocompromised are protected particularly over the Winter months, when we expect Covid cases to rise again.”

Notes:

Evusheld is made by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and is designed to prevent Covid infections. It is called a monoclonal antibody treatment and is used to prevent Covid in those who are unlikely to have had a response to the Covid-19 vaccines, including those who are immunocompromised.

Evusheld is already available in 32 countries including the United States, Canada, France, and Israel. It was approved for use in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority (MHRA) in March 2022, but the Government has not yet purchased the drug, and so at the moment people with blood cancer in the UK are unable to get it.