Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab for Prevention of COVID-19 during the Omicron Surge: Retrospective Analysis of National VA Electronic Data (preprint)

ABSTRACT

Background: Little is known regarding the effectiveness of tixagevimab/cilgavimab in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection in this population, particularly after the emergence of the Omicron variant. Objective: To determine the effectiveness of tixagevimab/cilgavimab for prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe disease among immunocompromised patients. Design: Retrospective cohort study with propensity matching and difference-in-difference analyses. Setting: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system. Participants: Veterans age [≥]18 years as of January 1, 2022, receiving VA healthcare. We compared a cohort of 1,848 patients treated with at least one dose of intramuscular tixagevimab/cilgavimab to matched controls selected from 251,756 patients who were on immunocompromised or otherwise at high risk for COVID-19. Patients were followed through April 30, 2022, or until death, whichever occurred earlier. Main Outcomes: Composite of SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19-related hospitalization, and all-cause mortality. We used cox proportional hazards modelling to estimate the hazard ratios (HR) and 95% CI for the association between receipt of tixagevimab/cilgavimab and outcomes. Results: Most (69%) tixagevimab/cilgavimab recipients were [≥]65 years old, 92% were identified as immunocompromised in electronic data, and 73% had [≥]3 mRNA vaccine doses or two doses of Ad26.COV2. Compared to propensity-matched controls, tixagevimab/cilgavimab-treated patients had a lower incidence of the composite COVID-19 outcome (17/1733 [1.0%] vs 206/6354 [3.2%]; HR 0.31; 95%CI, 0.18-0.53), and individually SARS-CoV-2 infection (HR 0.34; 95%CI, 0.13-0.87), COVID-19 hospitalization (HR 0.13; 95%CI, 0.02-0.99), and all-cause mortality (HR 0.36; 95%CI, 0.18-0.73). Limitations: Confounding by indication and immortal time bias. Conclusions: Using national real-world data from predominantly vaccinated, immunocompromised Veterans, administration of tixagevimab/cilgavimab was associated with lower rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19 hospitalization, and all-cause mortality during the Omicron surge.