Federal health experts are trying to figure out why some Covid patients who took the full five-day dose Paxlovid, Pfizer’s new antiviral drug, have reporting having a relapse. That happened to me and my wife.
“I think we’ll hear a lot more about it in the weeks to come,” said Dr. John Swartzberg is an expert on infectious diseases at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health.
“There are a lot of anecdotal reports of people who have Covid, they take Paxlovid and it gets them well pretty quickly,” Dr. Swartzberg said. “They take it for the five days and then two, or three, or four days later, they get symptoms back again. It’s not as bad as with the original infection, but symptoms back again and often test positive again.”
Paxlovid, available by prescription, is now the first-line response for helping many Covid patients who are really sick. If your doctor prescribes it, take it for the full five days.
“If your symptoms recur, typically they’ll be milder, but if they recur, get in touch with your physician and make sure you test yourself with a rapid test,” Dr. Swartzberg advised. If you test positive again, you have to consider that you are contagious.”
More Info:
Researchers to Study COVID-19 Relapses After Paxlovid Use
U.S. Seeks ‘Urgent’ Data on Covid Relapses After Using Pfizer’s Drug
Covid-19 cases that return after antiviral treatment puzzle doctors
