Paxlovid effective in reducing long COVID symptoms

A recent preprint study found that Pfizer’s COVID-19 antiviral Paxlovid may be effective in reducing the risk of developing long COVID in patients recovering from coronavirus infections.

 

The study, funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), looked through the VA’s health care databases and identified individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 between March and June 2022.

 

Methodology: Overall, 56,340 participants were included in the study, among whom 9,217 were given Paxlovid within five days of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, while the remaining 47,123 did not receive any form of COVID-19 antiviral or antibody treatment in the 30 days after their diagnosis.

 

The findings:

• Among the group that received no treatments, 9.43 per 100 persons reported developing long COVID at 90 days after diagnosis. People who received Paxlovid had an occurrence rate of 7.11 per 100 persons, indicating a
  25 percent risk reduction for developing long COVID.
• Researchers noted that this reduced risk was observed across multiple subgroups, including those separated by age, race, sex, whether they were smokers, whether they were vaccinated or whether they had chronic health conditions.

Long COVID is still not well understood as a condition more than two years after the start of the coronavirus pandemic. It presents through numerous, wide-ranging symptoms, and experts are not in agreement about how to define the condition.

 

Anywhere between 15 and 50 percent of people who contract COVID-19 may have long COVID depending on which definition is used.

 

There is no way to test for long COVID, so much of the reporting on the disease is dependent on self-reported information. While the specifics are still being debated, many COVID long-haulers, as they have come to be known, struggle with the lingering symptoms.