If cleared by the FDA, monoclonal antibodies could be given to the immunocompromised via injections before exposure to the coronavirus.

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Many immunocompromised Americans, including people with cancer, autoimmune disorders and transplanted organs, are impatiently awaiting what could be their ticket back to some semblance of normalcy: the ability to receive periodic injections of long-acting monoclonal antibodies. This, research suggests, could provide them the substantial protection against Covid-19 that in their cases vaccination may not.

The Food and Drug Administration could soon grant emergency authorization to monoclonal antibodies from drugmaker Regeneron for what is known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, against Covid-19. If cleared by the FDA, Regeneron’s therapy could be given as a set of injections every one to three months before potential exposure to the coronavirus.

[Update: On Monday, Regeneron released findings from a late-stage trial that a single dose of its antibody cocktail reduced the risk of contracting Covid by 81.6 percent in the two to eight months period following the drug’s administration.]

But questions remain about how accessible such routine preventive therapy would be to any of the estimated 3 percent of Americans who have compromised immune systems. 

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