To take the antiviral Paxlovid or not is a big question among many older adults. The drug is meant to be taken soon after a person develops a Covid-19 symptoms - to avoid severe Covid symptoms and prevent hospitalization and death. Unfortunately, some people develop rebound Covid after stopping Paxlovid - that is, they again develop Covid-19.
What is going on? How frequently does this occur? A new study recently published found a rebound effect of 21%. That's 1 in 5 persons taking Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir). Also, the researchers found that during the second bout with Covid the person is shedding viral particles - thus contagious, even if they didn't have symptoms during the rebound.
In comparison, the Covid rebound rate was 1.8% in persons who did not receive Paxlovid.
And yes, the rebound Paxlovid group was vaccinated. The Paxlovid group had received an average 4 vaccines vs 3 in the no treatment group. Interestingly, Covid rebound was more common among those who started Paxlovid therapy within the first 2 days of Covid symptoms, versus those who started later.
So...it's still unclear to many older adults whether to take Paxlovid or not.
From Science Daily: One in five patients experience rebound COVID after taking Paxlovid, new study finds
A new study by investigators from Mass General Brigham found that one in five individuals taking Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir therapy, commonly known as Paxlovid, to treat severe symptoms of COVID-19, experienced a positive test result and shedding of live and potentially contagious virus following an initial recovery and negative test -- a phenomenon known as virologic rebound. ...continue reading "Rebound Rates of Covid Are Pretty High After Taking Paxlovid"