A new tool for protection against COVID-19 is now available for those most vulnerable for hospitalization and death. It is a different type of shot designed for patients who are immunocompromised and not able to build up good immunity with a vaccine alone.|| COVID-19 updates | Maryland's latest numbers | Get tested | Vaccine Info ||The drug Evusheld has been approved under emergency use authorization since late last year, but supply was extremely limited until now.Doctors said vaccination is the final frontier in the fight against COVID-19, but some who are immunocompromised are still vulnerable to severe infection even after getting the shot."When you're vaccinated, your own body makes antibodies, some of which recognize spike and then some of them will then stop the virus from infecting you. If you're immunocompromised, your body doesn't make those antibodies," said Dr. Andrew Pekosz, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.But now, Evusheld is available to give those people those antibodies directly. The drug was made by AstraZeneca.It's an intramuscular shot, like the vaccines, but it gives patients a cocktail of two different antibodies and it helps prevent those most at risk for severe disease or death from getting COVID-19.| LINK: A list of providers that have Evusheld"It's for a limited number of eligible individuals, it's not for everyone in the state and we rely heavily on providers who know about their patients who have these conditions to particularly reach out to them and say, 'Hey, I know you have this problem, I think you should get Evusheld,'" said Dr. Howard Haft, of the Maryland Department of Health.Haft said it's designed for people 12 and up who are moderately to severely immunocompromised, like transplant recipients or cancer patients.For people who think they might qualify are encouraged to ask their doctor."Asking that provider to do a referral, we send a weekly list to all the providers in the state of where Evusheld is available whose stocking it in their hospital or clinic," Haft said.Haft said the state has ample supply for anyone who needs it. The protection lasts six months and is anywhere from 70% to 90% effective at keeping these folks from getting severely ill with COVID-19."It keeps you protected and then if you get infected, it helps control that infection and keeps it from getting more severe," Pekosz said.