Will Pax Lovid Cause a Covid Rebound?

Some patients prescribed PfizerPax Lovid working on a pill regimen of COVID-19 This is an inexplicable phenomenon called “Pax Rovid’s rebound”.

The most famous victim ever is the president of the United States Joe Bidenrecently signed coronaviruswas immediately treated with drugs and tested formally negative, before testing positive again four days later, but this time with no symptoms.

first lady doctor Jill Biden and Dr. Anthony FauciThe White House Chief Medical Officer also reports a similar experience.

Dr. Michael Charness, scientist at VA Boston Healthcare in Massachusetts, said: .

“There are many unanswered questions.”

So what exactly is Pax Lovid and how common are rebounds?

The drug itself is an oral three-tablet antiviral therapy prescribed to people considered at serious risk after contracting Covid, including the elderly, unvaccinated, and those with underlying medical conditions. Yes, taken daily for 5 days.

The first two tablets consist of nirmatrelvir, which targets an enzyme specific to the coronavirus and stops its replication. / AIDS, the state in which it was first developed.

Paxlovid has proven successful in Pfizer’s clinical trials, reducing hospitalizations and deaths in participants by 89% compared to participants who received a placebo, but the virus spread in 1-2% of cases shortly thereafter. recurred in

For comparison, another study by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, of Covid relapses in people not treated with Pax Lovid found that 27% of participants reported a return of symptoms after initial improvement, We found that 12% saw a recurrence of the virus at high levels.

“The main takeaway message is that recovery from Covid-19 is not a linear process,” said Professor Jonathan Lee, who led the study.

Pax Rovid is U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans general release in the second half of 2021 for adults and children 12 years and older deemed to be at high risk due to significant conditions such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

At the time of the FDA’s decision, there was no home-administered Covid treatment, and the drug was superior to competitors’ products. Merck The Biden administration spent more than $10 billion to purchase Paxlovid and make it available in pharmacies nationwide as part of its Testing and Treatment Initiative.

Since then, more than 3.9 million prescriptions have been filled, according to federal records.

However, the rebound phenomenon has gradually become apparent and has been recognized by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which means that while treatment is still recommended, “temporary recurrence of symptoms” Note that in some cases such occurrences are possible “in some people, regardless of their vaccination status, independent of treatment with Paxlovid.”

Suffering from rebound may mean “you can have virus without symptoms, symptoms without virus, and the two together.” Said Scientific American.

“If your patient needs it, the drug will work, even in some people’s situations. [experiencing a] rebound,” he added.

“Clinical trials have made it very clear that this is a great drug to keep people from getting hospitalized and dying. So don’t be afraid of a rebound.”

If a rebound does occur, as evidenced in President Biden’s case, it may be asymptomatic, asking whether patients who took paxlovid really suffer a relapse of the virus or are recovering more than others. It is difficult to judge whether it is taking time.

The cause of the relapse is unknown, and both the evolution of resistance from the virus and the weak immune system response of drug-treated patients are widely dismissed as unlikely.

One hypothesis is that the patient in question needs higher doses of nilmatrelvir in order to see off the disease completely, an argument being that the treatment is administered over a longer period of time.

Ultimately, according to experts, only a minority of patients treated with paxlovid tend to rebound, more research is needed to set a definite number of rounds, and second seizures He stresses that it may be just a mild case. Covid, given that your immune system is already familiar with its attacks.

That said, encounters with coronavirus are cause for concern, as treatment is only given to people who are considered at risk in the first place, and infected people should quarantine, wear masks, and regularly Remember to take a side inspection. Flow testing is to maintain contagiousness regardless of the presence or absence of visible symptoms.

Dr. Adi Shah, an infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, said:

“No additional Covid treatment required, no hospitalization required, no high mortality or morbidity.”