Category: COVID Therapies
Why Aren’t More Doctors Prescribing Paxlovid to High-Risk Patients?
MedPage Today It’s not all about drug-drug interactions, experts say. Recent evidence is piling up that many people at high risk for severe COVID-19 don’t receive nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) — or any outpatient antiviral treatment — when diagnosed with a SARS-CoV-2 infection. MedPage Today looked at new studies and talked to experts to find out why. In a […]
Jan 30, 2024
Paxlovid helps prevent severe illness from COVID. Why don’t more people take it?
Yahoo News With the current COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. at more than 1.1 million and new evidence that COVID infections can damage the brain, heart and lungs, it’s clear that the disease is more than “just a bad cold.” Paxlovid, which is a combination of two drugs (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir), can lower the risk of severe symptoms […]
Jan 23, 2024
Should I take Paxlovid if I get covid? Here’s what to know.
Washington Post Paxlovid lowers risk of serious illness and hospitalization, and may help prevent long covid, yet many patients don’t use the drug. The antiviral drug Paxlovid can significantly reduce symptoms of covid-19 and dramatically lower the risk of severe illness or dying of the disease. Yet many eligible people aren’t using it, and some […]
Jan 16, 2024
Why does Paxlovid make things taste bitter?
Science The COVID-19 remedy’s unpleasant side effect—known as “Paxlovid mouth”—comes from its effects on the tongue’s taste receptors. Paxlovid can prevent severe illness from COVID-19, but it comes with a price: In many users, the antiviral drug leaves a weird, metallic aftertaste that can last for days—a condition nicknamed “Paxlovid mouth.” Now, researchers say they’ve figured […]
Nov 21, 2023
Association of Treatment With Nirmatrelvir and the Risk of Post–COVID-19 Condition
JAMA Key Points Question Is treatment with nirmatrelvir in the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with a lower risk of post–COVID-19 condition (PCC)? Findings In this cohort study of 281 793 people with SARS-CoV-2 infection who had at least 1 risk factor for progression to severe COVID-19 illness, compared with 246 076 who had no treatment, nirmatrelvir use […]
Apr 11, 2023
Metformin found to reduce Long Covid in clinical trial
Inside Medicine A study posted on a preprint server operated by the medical journal The Lancet reports that Long Covid diagnoses were found to be lower in patients who received metformin (an inexpensive diabetes drug) compared to those who received placebo. The study has not yet been peer reviewed. Still, the findings are promising. Around 10.6% (1 in 9) […]
Mar 7, 2023
Paxlovid slashed severe outcomes for at-risk patients after Omicron surge, study finds
(MSN) Canadians at risk of severe illness from COVID-19 who took the antiviral medication Paxlovid significantly reduced their likelihood of being hospitalized or killed by the virus after the Omicron surge, according to new research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The study, which looked at data from thousands of Ontarians, wanted to measure the effectiveness […]
Feb 14, 2023
What Happened to the Monoclonal Antibodies for COVID-19?
(MedPageToday) Losing focus on monoclonals means neglecting those who need them most: the immunocompromised. Hello, it’s Jeremy Faust, editor-in-chief of MedPage Today. Thanks for joining us. Today, I’m going to cover an article I wrote in Inside Medicine called, “Data Snapshot: The rise and fall of monoclonal antibodies for COVID-19opens in a new tab or window.” Six monoclonal […]
Feb 13, 2023
How Effective Is Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir in Vaccinated Persons with COVID-19?
(NEJM) Preferred therapies for mild-to-moderate COVID-19 include a 3-day intravenous course of remdesivir or nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid). The only published randomized trial of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir was conducted prior to widespread vaccination (N Engl J Med 2022; 386:1397. opens in new tab). Thus, clinicians need further information on the effectiveness of this treatment in more-heavily immune populations. Investigators […]
Jan 24, 2023
What seniors need to know about taking Paxlovid
(CNN) A new coronavirus variant is circulating, the most transmissible one yet. Hospitalizations of infected patients are rising. And older adults represent nearly 90% of US deaths from Covid-19 in recent months, the largest portion since the start of the pandemic. What does that mean for people 65 and older catching Covid for the first […]
Jan 17, 2023