Hospitals use a lottery to allocate scarce COVID drugs for the immunocompromised

In December, the Food and Drug Administration authorized Evusheld, a monoclonal antibody combination from the drug company AstraZeneca that's designed to give patients like Cheung protection. For those who don't respond well to vaccines, Evusheld shots put COVID-fighting proteins directly into their bodies.

Analysis by AstraZeneca — completed last year — showed that the drug reduced the risk of getting COVID-19 by 77% and that the protection from a single two-shot treatment lasted for at least six months. Early data suggests it may work less well against the omicron variant of the coronavirus, but it is still expected to offer some protection.