It was not useful for treating mild illness. The trial of Paxlovid's effects in standard-risk Covid patients ended in June when the treatment failed to significantly relieve the symptoms of those participating.
Paxlovid is used to protect at-risk people from the very worst effects of Covid, but it isn't used to stop people from developing symptoms altogether.
Is it possible that it works against the newer variant?
It looks like it. The activity of Mpro across the Alpha, Delta, Gamma, and Omicron strains was halted by Pfizer in February 2022.
The University of Tokyo conducted studies on cultured monkey cells that show that nirmatrelvir can curb the activity of the BA.5 subvariant of Omicron.
Who are you able to get it?
In the UK and the US, Paxlovid is authorized for people older than 12 years old who weigh more than 40 kilogrammes, who are at a high risk of developing severe symptoms if they get Covid. They need only mild Covid symptoms and not to have been hospitalized because of their current infections.
People who are over the age of 65, as well as people with underlying health conditions such as HIV, chronic kidney disease, various autoimmune conditions, and Down's syndrome, are considered to be at high risk from Covid. Being at high risk for an organ transplant is what Organ transplant patients are classified as.
What do I need to do to access Paxlovid?
Depending on where you live, this will be different. You should contact your health care provider if you test positive for Paxlovid. If you're eligible, you can go to a Test-to-Treat site, where a state-licensed pharmacy can prescribe the drug to you. To get to these sites, you need documentation.
You can take a test in the UK to see if you are eligible for Paxlovid. The National Health Service will contact you if the result is positive and you're eligible for the treatment. If you think you are eligible but don't get a call from the health service, you can contact your doctor or call the emergency number.
In the UK, the pills can be posted to you by a friend, relative, or volunteer. Patients in the UK who meet eligibility criteria have reported difficulties in getting the drug from their local delivery unit.
You should check the website of your country's health provider to find out what to do.
Paxlovid rebound is what I'm wondering.
When someone appears to have recovered from Covid after taking the drug, but then a few days later tests positive again or experiences a second round of the disease, it's called this phrase. Both President Biden and Anthony Fauci seem to have experienced this.
Though research into the phenomenon is still at an early stage, rebound symptoms are usually mild and not very common. 3.5 percent of people who took Paxlovid rebounded to test positive seven days later, with 2.3 percent seeing their symptoms return, according to an initial study. Five percent were positive again after 30 days and another five percent had symptoms.
Why does covid bounce back?
Some Covid patients who have not received any treatment suffer from rebound, but scientists don't know why. The infectious disease experts at UC San Diego looked at over 500 Covid patients and found that 27 percent of them experienced a rebound.
How the drug works is one of the theories for why it happens. Paxlovid doesn't kill the virus, but it does prevent it from replicating, so it may be that a five-day course doesn't give enough time for the immune system to gear up and eradicate the virus from the body. After the Paxlovid has cleared, it is possible that the remnants of the virus from the initial infections will come back to life.