2024 is barely underway, but, man<\/i>, is it kicking my ass already…<\/p>\n
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Just after the turn of the new year, Desi tested positive<\/a> for COVID. By the end of that week, I did as well<\/a>, after both of us, fully vaxxed and boosted, had avoided it entirely over the past four years. Until now. Looks like we got caught up in the newly intensifying Winter surge<\/a>.<\/p>\n Happily, a very<\/i> quick Paxlovid prescription knocked it out of both of us within days. I can’t sing its praises enough. The five-day antiviral regimen is recommended for those with mild-to-moderate disease but at high risk for a severe infection. (For example, those with diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity and\/or, in my case, over 50 years of age or a former smoker.)<\/p>\n Studies differ somewhat in the numbers, but there is about a 5% to 20% of “rebound” for COVID patients, apparently, both<\/i> those that use Paxlovid and those who don’t, according to this recent Yale Medicine article<\/a>. That, as studies show “Paxlovid to reduce hospitalization and death by 86% in unvaccinated COVID patients (in initial trials by Pfizer, which developed the drug), and 80% effective in those who have been vaccinated. In November 2022, the CDC reported on a real-world study<\/a> showing that adults who took Paxlovid within five days of a COVID diagnosis had a 51% lower hospitalization rate within 30 days compared to those who did not receive the drug.”<\/p>\n The article reports, “for high-risk patients, the benefits of Paxlovid in preventing severe disease, hospitalization, and death far outweigh the downsides of a rebound, which is usually mild, and, in most instances, will do nothing more than prolong the isolation period.”<\/p>\n