Great newsletter! I really appreciate all of your research.
You mentioned Evusheld. I'm immune compromised due to arthritis drugs and asked my primary care doctor (Stanford member) about it and got a response from an NP in her office saying it was only for people who could not get the vaccine. I don't believe that's true and am asking again. Maybe I should be asking my Rheumatologist instead. My sense is that many of the physicians are as confused as the patients about who's supposed to receive it. (I'm fully vaccinated with 3 + 2 boosters, but everyone is getting Covid.)
Thank you again - you are performing a very valuable service to all of us.
Reading the latest FDA Evusheld recommendations, it seems that you would qualify if you are on an immunosuppressive drug. I would talk to your doctor about the FDA recommendations.
By the way, they are giving Evusheld at the Stanford Cancer Center.
"Q. What are some medical conditions or treatments that may lead to an inadequate immune response to the COVID-19 vaccination?
A: Medical conditions or treatments that may result in moderate to severe immunocompromise and an inadequate immune response to COVID-19 vaccination include but are not limited to:
Active treatment for solid tumor and hematologic malignancies
Receipt of solid-organ transplant and taking immunosuppressive therapy
Receipt of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T-cell or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (within 2 years of transplantation or taking immunosuppression therapy)
Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (e.g., DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich
syndrome)
Advanced or untreated HIV infection (people with HIV and CD4 cell counts <200/mm3
, history of an AIDS-defining illness without immune reconstitution, or clinical manifestations of
symptomatic HIV)
Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids (i.e., ≥20 mg prednisone or equivalent per day
when administered for ≥2 weeks), alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related
immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely
immunosuppressive, tumor-necrosis (TNF) blockers, and other biologic agents that are
immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory (e.g., B-cell depleting agents)"
Thank you! I appreciate your feedback!
Great newsletter! I really appreciate all of your research.
You mentioned Evusheld. I'm immune compromised due to arthritis drugs and asked my primary care doctor (Stanford member) about it and got a response from an NP in her office saying it was only for people who could not get the vaccine. I don't believe that's true and am asking again. Maybe I should be asking my Rheumatologist instead. My sense is that many of the physicians are as confused as the patients about who's supposed to receive it. (I'm fully vaccinated with 3 + 2 boosters, but everyone is getting Covid.)
Thank you again - you are performing a very valuable service to all of us.
Best regards,
Mary Pope-Handy
Los Gatos CA
Hi Mary,
Reading the latest FDA Evusheld recommendations, it seems that you would qualify if you are on an immunosuppressive drug. I would talk to your doctor about the FDA recommendations.
By the way, they are giving Evusheld at the Stanford Cancer Center.
Evusheld FAQs from the FDA: https://www.fda.gov/media/154703/download
"Q. What are some medical conditions or treatments that may lead to an inadequate immune response to the COVID-19 vaccination?
A: Medical conditions or treatments that may result in moderate to severe immunocompromise and an inadequate immune response to COVID-19 vaccination include but are not limited to:
Active treatment for solid tumor and hematologic malignancies
Receipt of solid-organ transplant and taking immunosuppressive therapy
Receipt of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T-cell or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (within 2 years of transplantation or taking immunosuppression therapy)
Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (e.g., DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich
syndrome)
Advanced or untreated HIV infection (people with HIV and CD4 cell counts <200/mm3
, history of an AIDS-defining illness without immune reconstitution, or clinical manifestations of
symptomatic HIV)
Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids (i.e., ≥20 mg prednisone or equivalent per day
when administered for ≥2 weeks), alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related
immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely
immunosuppressive, tumor-necrosis (TNF) blockers, and other biologic agents that are
immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory (e.g., B-cell depleting agents)"