Japan panel approves AstraZeneca's Evusheld COVID treatment

Japan's health ministry said on Monday that its panel of experts had agreed to approve manufacturing and sales of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 preventive treatment Evusheld.

Evusheld is designed to protect against COVID infection for at least six months, and has been deployed in many countries for people with compromised immune systems who see little or no benefit from vaccines. The panel also gave its consent to using Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for booster shots for children aged five to 11, the ministry said.