"See the Forgotten 500,000" t-shirt

T-shirt with the words "See the Forgotten 500,000", part of the #Forgotten500K campaign to role our Evusheld, a prevenative COVID-19 medication, used during a campaign outside the Houses of Parliament, 2022

On 26 October 2022, Evusheld for the UK held a vigil in Parliament Square to ask Steve Barclay, Secretary of Health and & Social Care to make Evusheld available on the NHS. Many people at the vigil were there to represent their loved ones, who are still taking additional precautions to protect themselves from COVID-19. For some, this is the third year in doing so. At least 500,000 people in the UK are immunocompromised, due to blood cancers, taking immunosuppressive drugs after a transplant, or conditions such as such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. People in this group were also less likely to have been protected by the first two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and potentially an additional primary dose and boosters.

Developed by AstraZeneca Evusheld is a combination of the two long-acting antibodies tixagevimab and cilgavimab, The treatment works by binding to the spike protein on the outside of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This in turn prevents the virus from attaching to and entering human cells. It is given as two separate intramuscular injections.

On 17 March 2022 Evusheld, was authorised for COVID-19 prevention by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). However, on 12 August 2022 the UK government decided not to purchase doses for NHS use as there was no clinical evidence that the medication worked for the variants in circulation. This decision was upheld by a 11 month review by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE), published in June 2023.

Evusheld UK joined together with clinicians and charities supporting people with immunocompromised conditions and clinicians. Together they mounted a media campaign and wrote to and provided evidence to the UK government. They cited the medicine’s use in 32 other countries and the need for further support for people living with immunocompromised conditions. In October Evusheld was available to purchase privately, but its high cost, means many could not access it.

Since May 2023, Evusheld for the UK is known as Forgotten Lives UK, supporting and advocating for 1.2 million people with immuncompromised conditions.