The Los Angeles Post

Fauci experiencing ‘rebound’ of symptoms after treatment

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Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases doctor, said he is experiencing a rebound of COVID-19 symptoms after taking Pfizer’s antiviral drug Paxlovid.

  • Fauci, 81, contracted COVID-19 earlier this month, and while his symptoms were initially “minimal,” because of his age he was prescribed a five-day course of Paxlovid when they worsened.
  • Speaking during a Foreign Policy global health summit on Tuesday, Fauci said he tested negative for three days in a row after he finished taking Paxlovid.
  • But then on the fourth day, Fauci said he tested positive again, a phenomenon that’s referred to as a “Paxlovid rebound.”

Increasingly common: As more doses of Paxlovid are prescribed, scores of patients are reporting a similar experience. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month warned health providers to be on the lookout for a “rebound” in Paxlovid patients between two and eight days after an initial recovery.

 

Just because a patient experienced a “rebound” does not mean Paxlovid didn’t work, or that the patient was reinfected.

 

Unconventional step: Fauci said he started a second course of Paxlovid, and as of Tuesday was on the fourth day of treatment.

 

While information about Paxlovid rebound is limited, both the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration say there’s no evidence a second treatment course is needed.