A patchwork of confusing guidelines dictating patient eligibility, mistaken perceptions of a scarcity and a lack of awareness among doctors and patients all contribute to poor access to COVID preventative drugs for the immunocompromised
The country music singer has become a dogged advocate for her fellow transplant patients, many of whom didn’t know the drug existed.
“Almost every state has its own guidelines,” Griffin said. “Patients have different eligibility in different states and in some states they have had variable guidelines depending on perceived supply and demand.”“I’ve had to do my own research, essentially give myself a degree in this to be able to talk to clinics and hospitals and say ‘this is available, this is why we are eligible, this is why we need this’,” she said.
The combination therapy must be administered by a specialist and involves two intramuscular injections usually administered in the buttocks in a hospital, rather than a vaccination clinic or a GP, which Griffin said, “makes the process incredibly complicated”.in “exceptional circumstances” for people who are severely immunocompromised who might expect for some reason that they are likely to be exposed to COVID.
The TGA and Department of Health have published fact sheets for Evusheld on their websites, but do not define patient eligibility.