Here ’s What Scientists Know About Paxlovid Rebound

Dr. David Ho has spent his entire career studying HIV and other viruses, so he thought he knew what to expect when he recently became infected with SARS-CoV-2. His symptoms weren’t very severe, but after discussing it with his doctor, Ho decided to take Paxlovid, the antiviral COVID-19 therapy made by Pfizer, for the five-day course. At 69, he fit the description of someone who should. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend Paxlovid for people at higher risk of severe COVID-19, including seniors. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Ho carefully tracked his infection. He had access to PCR testing and genetic sequencing in his lab at Columbia University, as well as rapid antigen kits for self-testing at home. He started taking Paxlovid a day after he first experienced cold symptoms and an antigen test turned positive. A PCR test on day 2 confirmed the infection, and Ho continued taking the daily therapy of two different pills for five days, as indicated. Every day from day 4 to day 9, his antigen tests were negative, and two PCR tests performed on day 5 and day 7 were also negative. But on day 10, he had a headache, runny nose, and mild cough. Ho decided to test himself at home, and to his surprise, he was again positive, which a PCR test confirmed. His team sequenced the virus to compare it to the genetic sequence from his earlier infection and found that it was identical to the virus that h...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news