The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday urged people with weak immune systems to take extra precautions to avoid covid after the dominant omicron subvariants knocked out a key antibody treatment.
These precautions include wearing a high quality mask and social distancing when it’s not possible to avoid crowded indoor spaces, according to the CDC. The guidance comes after the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday pulled its authorization of Evusheld, a combination antibody injection that people with weak immune systems took as an additional layer of protection to prevent covid infection.
The FDA pulled Evusheld because it is not effective against 95% of the omicron subvariants circulating in the U.S. This includes the XBB subvariants which are now causing 64% of new cases, as well as the BQ family that is responsible for 31% of reported infections. Although most Americans have largely returned to normal life as the covid pandemic has ebbed, people with weak immune systems remain at higher risk of severe disease because they do not mount as strong of an immune response to the vaccines.