Finally, there is a glimmer of hope for long COVID treatment. Read here
2 min read . Updated: 07 Nov 2022, 10:48 PM IST
PremiumTaking Pfizer's Paxlovid within five days of testing positive for Covid was linked to a 26% lower risk of long COVID
Finally, there is a glimmer of hope for long COVID treatment. A new study found long-term use of Pfizer's Paxlovid antiviral drug can also cut the risk of some symptoms of long Covid.
Taking the oral medication within five days of testing positive for a SARS-CoV-2 infection was linked to a 26% lower risk of lingering post-viral complications, researchers with the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System said in the study. That equates to 2.3 fewer cases of long Covid within three months of infection for every 100 patients treated.
The study has been published in medRxiv but it is yet to be peer-reviewed.
Elaborating on the study, physician-scientist Eric Topol said, the first study to show improvement in long-term outcomes after Paxlovid—including less LongCovid, deaths, hospitalizations and complications—is a major advance.
The research, based on an analysis of electronic health records in databases maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs, is the first study to look at Paxlovid’s longer-term effects, said Eric Topol, founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, California. It suggests that wider use of the treatment won’t just stave off critical disease during the acute phase of infection, but will limit patients’ likelihood of longer-term problems.
“Before this report, the only way we have known to reduce long Covid was to avoid a Covid infection (100% effective!) and some reduction afforded by prior vaccination and boosters, the level of that protection mostly in the range of 30 to 50%," Topol, who wasn’t involved in the study, said in a blog post. The VA study adds a third approach, he said.
Long Covid is estimated to afflict almost 150 million people worldwide and predicted to cost $3.7 trillion in the US alone.
Paxlovid is authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of acute Covid illness in people with one or more risk factors for progression to severe disease. It’s the top oral treatment for the virus, far outpacing Merck & Co.’s Lagevrio, also called molnupiravir.
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