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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Did Biden pause distribution of some COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatments?

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

By Lisa Freedland

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YES

On Dec. 23, 2021, the Biden administration temporarily halted the distribution of specific monoclonal antibody treatments over concerns that they may be ineffective against the omicron variant of COVID-19. Two of the treatments affected were those manufactured by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly. Shipments of Sotrovimab, another monoclonal antibody manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology, were not halted, as the drug was found to be effective against omicron.

On Dec. 29, 2021, distribution of Regeneron and Eli Lilly's treatments was resumed. However, given their lack of efficacy against omicron, these treatments are only being shipped to regions where the latest variant makes up less than 80% of cases. Exceptions are made for treatment sites capable of distinguishing between variants via testing.

Omicron is currently responsible for 99.5% of COVID-19 cases nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Public Health Emergency (Department of Health And Human Services) ASPR pauses allocation of bamlanivimab and etesevimab together, etesevimab alone, and REGEN-COV

Public Health Emergency (Department of Health And Human Services) Allocation of Bamlanivimab/etesevimab and REGEN-COV Therapeutics

Centers for Disease Control CDC COVID Data Tracker

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.