#COVID19 after a negative. FDA admits it definitely happens but claims it’s only 1-2% with rebound in the trials, & no clinical guidance change.
But I count more than 1%. https://t.co/qWPckRM2Db pic.twitter.com/kbpdETrVoh In another Twitter thread earlier, the expert pointed out that the threat is very real.
Meanwhile, after the controversy came to light, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla’s told news agency Bloomberg, that patients can take another course like you do with antibiotics. “Paxlovid does what it has to do: it reduces the viral load," Bourla told Bloomberg in an interview. “Then your body is supposed to do the job." However, countering the comment, FDA pointed out there is “no evidence" that a second course of Paxlovid will help Covid-19 patients whose symptoms return after an initial course of the antiviral.
No data support a longer course of treatment or two separate five-day courses to treat or prevent rebound, John Farley, director of the Office of Infectious Diseases in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said Wednesday in a post on the agency’s website. “There is no evidence of benefit at this time" for either repeat dosing or a longer course of treatment, Farley said in the post. “We are continuing to review data from clinical trials and will provide additional information as it becomes available." Pfizer received an emergency use authorization from the FDA in December to sell its antiviral, the first of its kind to fight COVID-19.