Doctors demand NHS funds Covid medicine to protect vulnerable patients who don’t respond to vaccines

More than 100 doctors have written to the government, demanding the NHS fund a Covid drug that protects vulnerable patients who don’t respond to vaccines, The Mail on Sunday.

Together with 19 charities, they wrote a letter to Health Secretary Steve Barclay stating that the drug is a matter of life and death for British people with compromised immune systems, such as blood cancer or organ transplants.

The move comes just days after NHS spending control said it would begin assessing the cost-effectiveness of the £800-per-dose treatment called Evusheld.

Developed by Covid vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca, this drug was approved by drug regulators after a March study found it reduced the risk of Covid infection by 80%.

The drug stops Covid cells from attaching to healthy cells, causing the body to become infected. Even if these vulnerable, so-called immunocompromised patients are infected, they are 50% less likely to be hospitalized and die if they get Evusheld.

Based on these findings, 28 countries, including France, America and Israel, have received millions of doses since January, but the UK government has so far refused to cover the costs.

Since Evusheld was declared safe by regulators four months ago, up to 500 immunocompromised Britons have died, according to an analysis shared by the Blood Cancer UK charity, The Mail on Sunday alone.

Doctors and charities are now asking the government to distribute Evusheld to those who qualify this fall to protect them from the expected Covid wave for the winter.

Dr. Lennard Lee, a cancer expert at the University of Oxford and lead author of the statement, said the move will benefit both the NHS and those taking the drug.

“Evusheld will likely reduce demand for hospitals, allow the NHS to recover, and at the same time give immunocompromised people the freedom that has been taken away for two years.”

Charities say many immunocompromised Brits – believed to be 500,000 – still retain it.

“A lot of people feel anxious and forgotten by the government,” says Gemma Peters of Blood Cancer UK.

“Evusheld has the potential to reduce anxiety, so we urge the government to buy and distribute the drug quickly.”

The Mail on Sunday was the first to report that health chiefs had not purchased Evusheld a month after initial approval.

At the time, the Ministry of Health said more research was needed to evaluate its effectiveness against new variants of Covid.

But in their statement, doctors say there is now conclusive evidence that Evusheld protects vulnerable people from the virus.

On Friday, NHS watchdog National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) announced a two-week consultation on costs.

Some lawmakers have also asked the heads of health to buy Evusheld. Conservative MP Bob Blackman said preserving the lives of immunocompromised people should be seen as an important part of the plan to live with Covid.

Evusheld can provide a solution, and it’s important that patients’ and doctors’ voices are heard,” he added.

One Briton who applied for Evusheld access is Scott Brigden, 47, from Hedon, East Yorkshire, who was diagnosed with leukemia in March 2021. It has a serious effect on the immune system.

Scott and his 52-year-old wife, Nikola, have not seen any friends or family since.

“The only time I left the house was to walk the dog,” Scott says. “Our daughter has just started college and now has to be away most of the time.”

Scott believes it will allow Evusheld to lead a more normal life.

“Diagnosis of blood cancer and getting intensive treatment is hard enough. Knowing that I’m refusing treatment that could give me my life back makes it worse.’