US ordering 500K more courses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 antibody cocktail

White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients announced Wednesday that the administration plans to order 500,000 more doses of the AstraZeneca antibody cocktail to protect immunocompromised people from COVID-19.

“The federal government was instrumental in the research and development of this product, and our latest order will also bring us to over 1 million doses available through [the] end of March,” Zients said during a press briefing. 

He also noted that the Biden administration this week purchased an additional 600,000 GlaxoSmithKline antibody treatment courses, noting the U.S. “will have more than 1 million total treatment courses through the end of March.”

Evusheld, AstraZeneca’s antibody cocktail, received an emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last month and is authorized for certain pediatric and adult patients who have moderately or severely compromised systems, have not been exposed to COVID-19 and do not themselves have the virus.

In a company analysis released in November, AstraZeneca reported that its COVID-19 treatment was more than 80 percent effective at symptomatic COVID-19 prevention. 

The FDA stressed that Evusheld is not a substitute for the vaccine for people who are able to shore up enough of an immune response following COVID-19 vaccination but noted the AstraZeneca COVID-19 treatment is an option for those who do not demonstrate a strong immune response after getting the COVID-19 vaccine or have had a previous history of negative reactions following COVID-19 vaccination.

The Hill has reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services for more information.

Updated 6:40 p.m.