Anecdote from Paxlovid

[pRICE cUBE]

Friend of mine reports and elderly relative caught C19 a few weeks ago. They were in rough shape (not quite hospital bad) and took Paxlovid on day 4 of symptoms. It is reported that other than a nagging cough, Paxlovid cleared up symptoms after 2 doses. YMMV but I thought I would pass on this story. Keep it in mind if you catch C19.

[RgrF]

Thanks for the post. We're hyper aware of the symptoms that could lead to a need for Paxlovid. We're canvassed local pharmacies and our primary will shoot a script to them on request.

[mattkime]

I'm a little disappointed that its not available to more people. I wonder if/when it will change. I might have to point to my asthma diagnosis to get it if/when I get covid w/symptoms. (unlike my previous symptomless infection)

[pRICE cUBE]

mattkime wrote:
I'm a little disappointed that its not available to more people. I wonder if/when it will change. I might have to point to my asthma diagnosis to get it if/when I get covid w/symptoms. (unlike my previous symptomless infection)

I know an asthmatic under 50 that used Paxlovid. He had to tell the online doctor about the diagnosis and the time changed on Paxlovid.

[Rolando]

Doc prescribed Pax for me, due to my Asthma. For my MiL and SiL for other factors.

But not for my wife or daughter, who don't have it or anything else, really.

But that taste it leaves in your mouth! Wow!

Used a lot of cough drops and Werthers!

[pRICE cUBE]

Rolando wrote:
Doc prescribed Pax for me, due to my Asthma. For my MiL and SiL for other factors.

But not for my wife or daughter, who don't have it or anything else, really.

But that taste it leaves in your mouth! Wow!

Used a lot of cough drops and Werthers!

Yeah, I chatted with the patient and the person reported a metallic taste in the mouth.

[rgG]

My mom really complained A LOT about the bad taste, but she is 91, so she definitely needed to take it.

[NewtonMP2100]

….recent news story said it works better/more effectively in older folks….

[Ca Bob]

One thought is that the tens of thousands of more or less normal people who get a mild case (after being fully vaccinated and boosted) will develop immunity and get rid of the virus completely, whereas using paxlovid to knock down the viral load will reduce the symptoms but will also reduce the immune response. When I got it (strong positive on the take home test) my doctor told me that if it got serious, to go right to the emergency room at the hospital, and they would know what to do. He told me he was notifying the ER doctor that I was his patient so that the ER would know what I was about. In practice, it went away after about a week, with the main symptoms going away after 3 or 4 days. The fact that they have the antiviral and monoclonal antibody treatments goes a long way towards relieving the anxiety of having it.

Note: When I called the doctor's office, they immediately scheduled a telephone appointment for a little later in the day (the doctor was with a patient when I first called) and it got handled that way. I avoided coming to the office, and they protected themselves and their patients.

[Janit]

Ca Bob wrote:
One thought is that the tens of thousands of more or less normal people who get a mild case (after being fully vaccinated and boosted) will develop immunity and get rid of the virus completely, whereas using paxlovid to knock down the viral load will reduce the symptoms but will also reduce the immune response.

Increased immunity does you no good if you have already died.

It's a balancing act. If problematic levels of symptoms start to appear, it is most important to treat the symptoms and deal with methods for increasing immunity later.