Paxlovid would not reduce the risk of long Covid

A team of researchers from UC San Francisco found that Paxlovid did not reduce the risk of developing long Covid in people who were vaccinated and not hospitalized during their first infection.

Paxlovid treatment of acute Covid-19 infection has been shown to be effective for unvaccinated people at high risk. But the effect of treatment on long-term Covid risk is less clear.

Paxlovid and long Covid: two groups with similar developments

To address these information gaps, the research team selected a group of vaccinated individuals from the UCSF COVID-19 Citizen Science study. All had reported their first positive test for Covid-19 between March and August 2022 and none had been hospitalized.

Some of these participants reported taking oral treatment with Paxlovid during the acute phase of their infection, while others did not. In December 2022, they were asked to complete a follow-up survey with questions about duration of infection, symptoms and how long they continued to test positive.

The researchers found that the two groups were similar. About 16% of people treated with Paxlovid had symptoms of long Covid, compared to 14% of people not treated with the drug. The most commonly reported symptoms were fatigue, shortness of breath, confusion, headache, and altered sense of taste and smell.

Paxlovid and long Covid: the limits of the study

“We were surprised to find that treatment with Paxlovid during acute infection was not associated with a lower risk of long Covid, but this finding is consistent with two other rigorously conducted studies,” conclude the scientists.

The authors finally note that their study may have been affected by limitations arising from its observational nature.

What is long Covid?

Around one in 10 people develop prolonged symptoms from Covid-19. “Some are present from the acute phase of the infection and then persist for weeks or months. Others may appear later, when the patient imagines himself almost recovered,” specifies Inserm.

This can include sometimes overwhelming physical and intellectual fatigue, breathing difficulties, shortness of breath, muscle or joint pain, digestive problems, sleep disorders, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, etc. “We speak of long Covid when such symptoms have been present for at least two months (with an intensity which can fluctuate depending on the day) and cannot be explained by another diagnosis”, writes the research center.