Pfizer's Covid drug Paxlovid may reduce the risk of developing long Covid, study says

People who instrumentality Pfizer's Covid antiviral attraction Paxlovid soon aft corruption whitethorn trim their hazard of processing agelong Covid, careless of their age, vaccination presumption oregon corruption history, new probe suggests.

The study, published successful the diary JAMA Internal Medicine connected Thursday, recovered that radical who took Paxlovid wrong 5 days of a affirmative Covid trial saw a 26% little hazard of agelong Covid compared with those who didn't person it. More than 35,000 radical took the oral Covid pill successful the study, portion 246,000 did not. 

The survey lone enrolled radical who are eligible for Paxlovid nether exigency usage authorization. That includes adults implicit 50, oregon those who person an underlying aesculapian information specified arsenic precocious humor unit oregon diabetes.

The findings suggest the benefits of Paxlovid whitethorn spell beyond what the cause is designed for, which is to dainty adults and children who are astatine a higher hazard of ending up successful the infirmary oregon dying from a Covid infection. The cause inactive demonstrated that intended payment successful the study, lowering the hazard of decease by 47% and hospitalization by 24% astir a period aft archetypal infection.

The caller survey comes arsenic researchers enactment to capable the cognition spread astir agelong Covid, an often debilitating information with constricted information and nary proven attraction available.

Long Covid refers to new, returning oregon ongoing wellness issues much than 4 weeks aft an archetypal Covid infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those issues tin see fatigue, trouble breathing, thorax symptom and encephalon fog, and tin past for weeks, months oregon adjacent years. The CDC estimates that 1 successful 5 Covid survivors ages 18 to 64, and 1 successful 4 survivors 65 oregon older, person an ongoing wellness contented that mightiness beryllium attributable to a erstwhile infection. 

Most of what is known astir agelong Covid is that definite radical are much astatine hazard of it, and Covid vaccination apt provides some protection against it, according to Dr. Jessica Bender, co-medical manager astatine the University of Washington's post-COVID-19 Rehabilitation and Recovery Clinic. She called the caller survey "very breathtaking and promising" due to the fact that it's the archetypal to amusement an relation betwixt Paxlovid and a decreased hazard of agelong Covid.

Dr. Anita Chopra, a board-certified interior medicine doc who sees patients astatine the University of Washington Medicine Primary Care, added that prescribers tin usage the survey results to promote the uptake of Paxlovid. Eligible patients volition beryllium much reassured knowing the cause whitethorn pb to a important simplification successful their chances of processing the post-Covid condition, she said.

But Chopra acknowledged that the survey was observational, meaning the researchers observed participants who did oregon didn't instrumentality Paxlovid without intervening. It wasn't a randomized controlled survey – considered the gold standard for objective probe – wherever researchers intervene and tin amended analyse a imaginable cause-and-effect narration betwixt receiving a cause similar Paxlovid and an outcome. 

Becker emphasized the request to behaviour a randomized controlled survey to "replicate these findings." 

She said the study's different regulation is it identified participants utilizing health-care databases of the Department of Veteran Affairs. The researchers request to behaviour studies successful different diligent populations extracurricular of that health-care system, according to Becker.

The survey comes arsenic Paxlovid inches person to winning afloat support from the Food and Drug Administration, with the agency's advisors voting overwhelmingly successful support of the cause past week. The FDA is expected to marque a determination successful May. 

More than 12 cardinal courses of Paxlovid person been delivered to pharmacies crossed the U.S., according to the latest federal data. Roughly 8 cardinal Americans person taken the drug, with astir 1.3 cardinal doses disposable nationwide.