Rationed for high risk? I’ve read about multiple politicians receiving it. I suspect it must be rationed for other reasons
back
1 comments
Rationed for the usual reason because it's hard to make and there isn't enough to go around. That's a usual problem with monoclonal antibodies. That's also the reason they tend to be so expensive. Also if they aren't administered soon enough they generally don't work very well.
> Rationed for the usual reason because it's hard to make and there isn't enough to go around.
The technology to make monoclonal antibodies is simpler than that for mRNA vaccines.
> That's also the reason they tend to be so expensive
Economies of scale play a big role. At similar scale mab should be cheaper than mRNA.
> The technology to make monoclonal antibodies is simpler than that for mRNA vaccines.
It’s more mature technology, but unlike the mRNA vaccines it’s not cell free and as a result is harder to scale up. At similar scale mRNA will still be cheaper; that’s one if mRNA’s biggest selling points.
You need about 30 ug of MRNA vaccine. For Regeneron the dosage is an initial dose of 600 mg followed by 300 mg every other week. Pfizer is $19.50/dose. Moderna is $15/dose. Regeneron is $2100/dose. And that's with the US govt having bought millions of doses of Regeneron.