CDC issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) health update to supplement CDC HAN health advisories issued April 25 and May 24 regarding COVID-19 therapeutics. The December 20 update emphasizes to healthcare providers, public health departments, and the public that the majority of Omicron sublineages circulating in the United States have reduced susceptibility to the monoclonal antibody bebtelovimab and the monoclonal antibody combination cilgavimab and tixagevimab (EvusheldTM).
Antiviral therapeutics for the treatment of COVID-19, ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid™), remdesivir (Veklury®), and molnupiravir (Lagevrio™), retain activity against currently circulating Omicron sublineages. These medications can prevent severe disease, hospitalization, and death and are widely available but have been underused.
This HAN health update provides health care professionals, public health officials, and the public with guidance on improving use of therapeutics for treatment of COVID-19 and strategies to prevent serious outcomes of COVID-19.