A 'uniquely Australian' mix of variants will make treating severe COVID-19 more challenging, according to new research, with fewer effective drugs against new evasive strains of the virus.
Kirby Institute researcher Stuart Turville, a co-author on the study, said the evasiveness of newer Omicron variants meant there were fewer effective treatments for people who were immunocompromised.
Former US president Donald Trump was successfully treated with a monoclonal antibody cocktail when he got infected back in 2020.The treatment's molecules work by binding to the SARS-Cov-2's virus's spike protein, neutralising the virus and helping prevent an infection from becoming severe. And while there are many different variants circulating now, one thing they all have in common are spike protein mutations that make them better able to evade antibodies.Researchers said the large number of variants in circulation would make treating severe COVID-19 more challenging going forward.
"I think reducing the viral load either by vaccination in the general community, reducing the viral load of people that are vulnerable are the key measures that we have to deal with this virus at the moment."
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