Evusheld Patient Information

•    Evusheld is a medicine containing two active ingredients: tixagevimab and cilgavimab. 
•    Evusheld can be used as a treatment or prevention for COVID-19 in at risk people (see below for more information). 
•    Evusheld can provide 6 months of protection against COVID-19.
•    Evusheld is not a substitute for vaccination in individuals for whom COVID-19 vaccination is recommended.

Evusheld is an antibody that works against the COVID-19 virus, stopping it from entering cells.

Evusheld has been approved by the Australian government for:

• The prevention of COVID-19 in adults and adolescents (≥ 12 years and ≥ 40 kg) if they:
  • have an illness or are taking medicines such as certain immunosuppressants or high dose corticosteroids) which make them unlikely to respond to or be protected by vaccination against COVID-19, or
  • are not recommended to have a COVID-19 vaccine due to a history of severe adverse reaction (for example, severe allergic reaction) to a COVID 19 vaccine(s) and/or COVID‐19 vaccine component(s).
• The treatment of adults with COVID-19, who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are at increased risk of progressing to severe COVID-19.
• • Risk Factors for progressing to severe COVID-19 include:
    • Age ≥ 65 years
    • Diabetes
    • Obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2)
    • Chronic kidney disease
    • Cardiovascular disease (including history of stroke)
    • Hypertension
    • Chronic liver disease
    • Chronic lung disease or moderate-to-severe asthma
    • Sickle cell disease
    • Smoking (current and former)
    • Cancer
    • Immunocompromised state (including use of corticosteroids, or use of other immunosuppressive medicines)

Dose of Evusheld

Evusheld is given by a healthcare provider as two intramuscular injections, one into each buttock, you will receive 2 injections, one after the other at the same visit.

The recommended dose is 600mg of Evusheld (this will require two boxes), given as two separate injections of
•    300mg of tixagevimab
•    300mg of cilgavimab

For prevention: A repeat dose of 600mg of Evusheld is optional and may be given once every 6 months.

For treatment: If you test positive for COVID-19 you should receive Evusheld as soon as possible and within 7 days after the onset of symptoms. 

Before you have Evusheld, please discuss further with your healthcare professional if you:

•    have had a heart attack or stroke, or other heart conditions, which put you at higher risk of having cardiac (heart) events 
•    have a bleeding disorder, low numbers of blood platelets or are taking a blood-thinning medicine (to prevent blood clots)
•    are taking any medicines or have any allergies to any of the ingredients in the medicine
•    are pregnant, breastfeeding or are planning to have a baby soon
•    have recently received a COVID-19 vaccine within 2 weeks or had a confirmed COVID-19 infection within 4 weeks. It is possible that Evusheld may reduce your body’s immune response to a COVID-19 vaccine.

Serious side effects are uncommon with Evusheld, and you may not get any side effects when receiving Evusheld. Common side effects include:
•    headache
•    fatigue (tiredness)
•    pain, redness, itching or rash at the injection site.
Tell your healthcare professional straight away if you notice any signs of rare but serious allergic reaction, such as:
•    difficulty breathing or swallowing
•    swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat
•    severe itching of the skin, with a red rash or raised bumps.

Evusheld is a prescription only medicine, so it is only available with a prescription from an authorised prescriber. For more information, please contact your rheumatologist or other health care provider.