COVID-19 outbreak more than two years, wear masks, disinfection, scan health code, temperature, nucleic acid...... It has become common for the public to ask "When will the epidemic end?" "And" When will COVID-19 be defeated?" The answer may be "in the near future", with the approval of the first domestically made miracle drug for COVID-19.
On December 8, 2021, China's first chinese-made novel coronavirus drug with independent intellectual property rights was approved for the market.
According to information on the website of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), the monoclonal neutralizing antibody ambavitumab/romizimab combination has been approved for emergency use by the China Medical Products Administration (NMPA). The test result for novel Coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) is positive. Adults and adolescents (≥12 years of age, weight ≥40 kg) with risk factors for progression to severe COVID-19.
这种新冠特效药效果怎样？对变异株效果如何？还需要打新冠疫苗吗？大众关心的五大问题，小荷医典为你一一解答：
1. What is the effect of this coronavirus wonder drug?
Significantly reduces the risk of hospitalization and death.
It has been reported that ambavizumab and romisizumab approved by the State Food and Drug Administration are called "novel coronavirus specific drugs". The phase III clinical trial showed that the antibody combination had good safety and antiviral efficacy.
Ambayzumab and romisizumab are used in combination for the treatment of novel Coronavirus infection, known as Novel Coronavirus neutralizing antibody therapy. More than 800 novel Coronavirus infections have now received the combination therapy, including those infected with the Delta variant. Trial results showed that the combination reduced hospitalizations and deaths by 80%.
At the same time, those who started treatment early (within 5 days of symptom onset) and those who started treatment later (6 to 10 days after symptom onset) had significantly lower rates of hospitalization and mortality, providing a longer treatment window for COVID-19 patients.
2.What is Novel Coronavirus neutralizing antibody therapy?
Novel coronavirus neutralizing antibody therapy is to use specific antibodies to treat Novel coronavirus infection by neutralizing or inhibiting the biological activity of novel Coronavirus and protecting cells from infection.
Ambayzumab and romizimab, recently approved by the National Food and Drug Administration, work through neutralizing antibody therapy. In combination, they "neutralize" the novel Coronavirus, preventing the virus from attaching to susceptible cells and further preventing the virus or its genetic material from entering cells to proliferate.
3.What is the effect of novel Coronavirus neutralizing antibody therapy on the mutant strain?
Ambavitumab and romisizumab have been selected in clinical studies to treat patients with the Delta variant and the main epidemic strain of COVID-19. The results show that they are effective against the Delta variant and can effectively reduce the hospitalization and mortality of the Delta variant infection.
However, for other types of mutant strains, there is no relevant clinical data at present, so the efficacy of other mutant strains cannot be determined.
4.With COVID-19 treatment drugs, is COVID-19 vaccine still needed?
COVID-19 vaccines are still recommended when drugs are available. Vaccination against COVID-19 remains an important measure for preventing novel coronavirus infection.
Vaccination and drug treatment are two different roles: vaccination is in the disease does not occur, can play a role in preventing infection and reduce the severity of infection; Drug therapy is used to treat patients after the occurrence of the disease. Therefore, they are complementary rather than substitutive.
For any infectious disease, prevention is very important. Vaccination is still one of the most effective measures to prevent infectious diseases, so it is still recommended to be vaccinated against COVID-19 even when treatment drugs are available.
5.Can COVID-19 be treated like a common cold once drugs are available?
With the advent of COVID-19 treatment drugs, COVID-19 should not be treated as a common cold for now. We still need to pay attention to it and take daily precautions.
Although there are currently approved treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, it still shouldn't be considered a common cold. The main reason is that COVID-19 is far more harmful than the common cold in terms of virulence, transmission speed and symptoms, and should not be taken lightly.
Form:
COVID-19 is pneumonia caused by the Novel Coronavirus of SARS-COV-2; They are more virulent and mutate faster than the common cold or influenza A and B viruses.
Propagation speed:
COVID-19 is more contagious than influenza, spreading faster and affecting more people.
Severity:
Compared with the common cold, COVID-19 causes a higher incidence of serious illness, such as lung damage, and a higher mortality rate than flu. Studies have shown that the sequelae of COVID-19, which include pulmonary fibrosis, kidney failure, stroke, brain hemorrhage, and muscle wasting, can be more severe than the common cold.
So while prevention and treatment are available, COVID-19 should never be treated like a common cold. It is recommended to do a good job of daily protection, less to densely populated places, timely vaccination.
