COVID-19 Therapeutics: Use, Mechanism of Action, and Toxicity (Vaccines, Monoclonal Antibodies, and Immunotherapeutics)

SARS-CoV-2 emerged in December 2019 and led to the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts to develop therapeutics have led to innovations such as mRNA vaccines and oral antivirals. Here we provide a narrative review of the biologic therapeutics used or proposed to treat COVID-19 during the last 3 years. This paper, along with its companion that covers xenobiotics and alternative remedies, is an update to our 2020 paper. Monoclonal antibodies prevent progression to severe disease, are not equally effective across variants, and are associated with minimal and self-limited reactions. Convalescent plasma has side effects like monoclonal antibodies, but with more infusion reactions and less efficacy. Vaccines prevent progression for a larger part of the population. DNA and mRNA vaccines are more effective than protein or inactivated virus vaccines. After mRNA vaccines, young men are more likely to have myocarditis in the subsequent 7 days. After DNA vaccines, those aged 30–50 are very slightly more likely to have thrombotic disease. To all vaccines we discuss, women are slightly more likely to have an anaphylactic reaction than men, but the absolute risk is small.