How a new Covid-19 treatment rolled out in Australia this week will slash hospital admissions

A new coronavirus antibody treatment is being rolled out in Australia this week, with the potential to slash hospital admissions.

A new coronavirus antibody treatment with the potential to slash hospital admissions is being rolled out in Australia this week.

At least 500 of the 7700 bought by the Australian government have been allocated to Victoria, with patients due to start receiving transfusions within days.

Sotrovimab has been found to reduce hospitalisation or death by 79 per cent in adults with mild to moderate Covid-19.

Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton said the treatment would be given to high-risk patients as soon as Tuesday.

The treatment has the potential to ease the need for lockdown restrictions in the longer term.

“It’ll probably be given to patients starting this week, if not tomorrow, and it works on neutralising the effect of the virus for people who are eligible and who are most at risk,” he said on Monday.

“So more elderly, people with chronic illnesses, people with immune conditions, people who haven’t got the ability to respond to vaccination because of their immune system.”

Sotrovimab arrives in Australia in August and is now being given to patients.

Prof Sutton said that the treatment could keep patients out of hospital, and out of intensive care units.

The drug, which was approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) on August 20, would be given to patients when they were at home.

The aim was to prevent them from getting to hospital.

Prof Sutton said the drug was an important new tool in the fight against Covid-19.

“You get an infusion, you are hopefully able to remain at home so the infusion happens over a one-hour period in an outpatient setting,” he said.

“And you can stay at home and it protects you from that more severe illness.”

Chief health officer Professor Brett Sutton announced the rollout of a new Covid-19 treatment at a press conference on Monday. Picture: Getty

Sotrovimab works by attaching itself to coronavirus inside the cell and neutralising the illness.

Prof Sutton said that the treatment had already been through testing and was now in the “consolidation phase”.

When asked if it could help prevent future lockdowns, or allow some restrictions to be eased, Prof Sutton said: “It gives us an assurance that our health system can be protected from those more severe cases that would otherwise require intensive care”.

The drug will be targeted for those over 55 who were most at risk of severe illness as a result of Covid-19.

A scientist working on Sotrovimab.

And people over 55, who also had diabetes, obesity, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, lung disease or asthma, were also likely to be prioritised for the treatment.

The drug must be taken within the first five days of infection, underlining the need to get tested at the first sign of illness.

Health Minister Greg Hunt last monght said vaccinations were the first line of defence, but that the drug would offer an extra option.

“This treatment will provide another tool in the ongoing challenge against COVID-19, in addition to the COVID-19 vaccines, which are being rolled out in record numbers across the country,” he said.

Originally published as How a new Covid-19 treatment rolled out in Australia this week will slash hospital admissions