A study published online on Tuesday (2 August) claims that despite being treated with the antiviral Paxlovid, around a third of people with coronavirus (COVID-19) will experience a rebound in their symptoms
The preprint study, titled “Viral and symptom rebound in untreated COVID-19 infection,” found that 27% of people with Covid saw a rebound in their symptoms. The study also mentioned that they had improved initially. Preprint means the study has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Dr Davey Smith, who co-authored the study, said: “This happens all the time. People with untreated Covid who feel better later can have symptoms later.” Dr. Smith is also the Chief of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.
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About 12 percent of people who tested for coronavirus had a “viral rebound,” meaning days after testing negative, they tested positive again. The study also mentioned that the findings are from people who have taken Paxlovid.
Dr Smith said the return of symptoms could be worse or perhaps not as bad as the first attack. He noted, “It’s just the variability in the natural course of the infection.”
As mentioned by NBC News, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that there is a possibility of recurrence of symptoms in untreated Covid patients.
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In May, the health agency issued a health alert to inform doctors about Paxlovid rebounds. The alert stated that “a brief return of symptoms may be part of the natural history of infection with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) in some people, regardless of treatment with Paxlovid and regardless of vaccination status”.
Dr. Paul Sax, who is the clinical director of the division of infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, “In a way, this is the natural history of all respiratory viral infections. There are good days and bad days, and eventually they finish. improve.”
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