The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday added asthma to its list of severe COVID-19 risk factors, saying that people with the condition can be prescribed oral antiviral drugs. It also designated Evusheld as a second-line medication for the disease.
The CECC in a notice to healthcare providers said that asthma has been included as a risk factor for severe COVID-19, adding that doctors can prescribe oral antiviral drugs to people with asthma who are diagnosed with COVID-19, effective immediately.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, said the decision was made by the CECC’s specialists’ panel after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest systematic review determined that asthma is associated with higher risk of developing severe COVID-19.
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The CECC in its notice also told healthcare providers that Evusheld, a monoclonal antibody, can be used as a second-line medication for COVID-19.
Lo said that Evusheld — a combination of two medications, tixagevimab and cilgavimab — offered pre-exposure prophylaxis for prevention of COVID-19 for people who are vulnerable to the virus, but cannot get vaccinated.
However, based on recent studies, the Food and Drug Administration has also approved it as a second-line treatment for COVID-19, Lo said.
Paxlovid, an oral antiviral agent, and remdesivir injections are first-line medications to treat people with the virus who have at least one of the 14 risk factors for severe COVID-19, he said.
However, if a patient’s health is not suitable for receiving the two drugs, Evusheld can be prescribed, he added.
Evusheld is less effective against some new SARS-CoV-2 subvariants, including Omicron BQ.1, BF.7, XBB and BA.4.6, but is still effective against the Omicron BA.1, BA.2, BA.5, BA.5 and BA.2.75 subvariants, Lo said, adding that the former are not yet known to be circulating in Taiwan.
The CECC yesterday reported 17,230 new local COVID-19 cases, 49 imported cases and 21 deaths from the disease.
The local caseload is 5 percent lower from Tuesday last week and most of the cases were concentrated in the six special municipalities, CECC data showed.
Of the 21 deaths, 20 people had underlying medical conditions, 14 had not received a booster dose and 14 were 80 or older.
Among the 13,421 deaths this year, 91 percent had underlying medical conditions, 91 percent were 60 or older and 66 percent had not received a booster shot, the CECC said.
As of Monday, the nation’s first and second-dose vaccination rates were 94 percent and 88.6 percent respectively, and the first and second booster vaccination rates were 74.2 percent and 17.4 percent respectively.
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