New VA study finds Paxlovid may cut the risk of long COVID
NPR Online NewsJUL 2022
This study is a major breakthrough, highlighting the many positive impacts Paxlovid can have for COVID patients. It also provides data for researchers to further investigate how reducing viral load early can lessen the effects of, or even prevent, long COVID. Long-sought treatments for long COVID may finally be on the horizon.
We should be careful not to overstate the impact of this study. Nearly 75% of the participants were white men with an average age of 65, so it's a small sample size. Long COVID conditions weren’t eliminated, and in some cases, they weren't prevented. There’s still a lot of work to do, and for now, Paxlovid should be a part of a suite of approaches.