New Studies Indicate Paxlovid Reduces Hospitalizations and Death

New studies have found that Paxlovid is tied to a “reduction in COVID-19 hospitalizations and death, as well as to faster resolution of symptoms and less use of healthcare resources.” CIDRAP has the news.

One study, led by researchers at the Medical University of Vienna, compared Paxlovid’s effectiveness with that of the antiviral drug Lagevrio “against hospitalization and all-cause death from January 2022 to May 2023.” 113,399 patients were included in the retrospective cohort study; “10.7% received Paxlovid, 9.5% received molnupiravir [Lagevrio], and 80.0% served as untreated controls. Over 96% of participants were previously infected with or vaccinated against COVID-19.”

Overall, “a total of 0.43% of Paxlovid recipients, 1.4% of molnupiravir users, and 1.13% of controls were hospitalized within 28 days.” None of the Paxlovid recipients died. Indeed, treatment with Paxlovid was “associated with a lower risk of hospitalization and all-cause death within 28 days, albeit with wide confidence intervals and high numbers needed to treat,” according to the study authors.

Another study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases found that Paxlovid “significantly shortened the time to symptom relief…and resolution” and “cut the number of COVID-related medical visits by 64.3% and the proportion of patients seeking care by 73.2%.”