INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A rebound of COVID-19 symptoms in some patients after taking Pfizer&s antiviral Paxlovid may be related to a robust immune response rather
than a weak one, United States government researchers reported on Thursday.They concluded that taking a longer course of the drug & beyond
the recommended five days & was not required to reduce the risk of a recurrence of symptoms as some have suggested, based on an intensive
investigation of rebound in eight patients at the National Institutes of Health&s Clinical Center, Reuters reported.All patients in the
study had developed robust immune responses, but researchers found higher levels of antibodies in the patients who experienced a rebound.The
team said their data argues against the hypothesis that impaired immune responses are the reason symptoms return in some patients.Our
findings suggest that a more robust immune response rather than uncontrolled viral replication characterizes these clinical rebounds,& the
team wrote.The study, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, followed numerous reports of individuals who took Paxlovid as
recommended within five days of infection and saw a return of symptoms after they completed the five-day course of treatment.President Joe
Biden and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr
Anthony Fauci both experienced a COVID rebound after taking the medicine.The cases raised concerns that Pfizer&s two-drug antiviral
treatment could interfere with development of a long-lasting immune response.The study involved six people whose COVID symptoms returned
after taking Paxlovid, and two with rebound symptoms after apparent recovery who did not take the pills
Their responses were compared to a group of six people who had COVID but did not experience a rebound
All volunteers had been vaccinated and boosted and all were infected with some version of the Omicron variant of the virus.All of the
rebound patients had experienced significant improvement in their symptoms before their rebound
Of those who had a rebound after Paxlovid, four had milder symptoms than during their initial infection, one had the same level of severity
and one reported worse symptoms.The researchers also suggested that there is still a need to evaluate longer courses of Paxlovid in
immunocompromised individuals where the immune response may be ineffective.The post COVID rebound after Pfizer treatment likely due to
robust immune response, study finds first appeared on Ariana News.
