US FDA Approves Paxlovid for High-Risk Adults

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Pfizer’s Paxlovid for patients at high risk of severe COVID-19 this week. The move is based on a randomized clinical trial that found that unvaccinated patients who had not been infected by COVID-19 before were 86% less likely to be hospitalized if given Paxlovid early in the disease. However, some experts have expressed concern over whether these results will translate to people who are up-to-date on their vaccinations.

According to David Lim and Katherine Ellen Foley, “Walid Gellad, director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing, said that while there is no question that Paxlovid helps people at high risk of progression to severe Covid-19, providers are awaiting data from the United Kingdom’s PANORAMIC clinical trial to see the antiviral’s efficacy in a predominantly vaccinated population.”

To read more, click here.

(Source: Politico, May 26^th, 2023)