Veterans who got the antiviral treatment Paxlovid appear less likely to have long-term symptoms of COVID-19, commonly known as long COVID, according to research from the Department of Veterans Affairs published Saturday.
An analysis of more than 56,000 veterans infected with COVID-19, including 9,000 who were treated with Paxlovid, found that those treated with the new Pfizer drug had a 26% reduction in the risk of developing long COVID, characterized by persistent symptoms long after infection -- including fatigue, difficulty breathing, liver disease and muscle pain.
"Paxlovid reduces the risk of severe COVID-19 in the acute phase, and now, we have evidence that it can help reduce the risk of long COVID," Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of research and development at the VA St. Louis Health Care System and clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis, who led the study, said in a statement Monday. "This treatment could be an important asset to address the serious issue of long COVID."
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The study notes one of its limitations was that most of the patients analyzed were white men. A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that people of color -- particularly Black and Hispanic people -- were far less likely to be prescribed antiviral drugs like Paxlovid when they were being treated for COVID-19, finding they were 36% and 30% less likely than their white peers, respectively. Meanwhile, one in three white patients at the VA were prescribed the treatment.
The aftereffects of COVID, which can linger for months, are not yet fully understood, with in-depth studies like the new VA report on Paxlovid just beginning to be published.
The VA has the largest health care network in the U.S. with more than 9 million beneficiaries enrolled. Since the pandemic, 758,000 VA patients have been infected with COVID-19, with 23,000 known deaths, according to data from the agency released Monday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's top medical adviser, credited his use of the treatment for keeping him from being hospitalized when he tested positive for COVID-19 in June.
"This groundbreaking study is going to improve the lives of Veterans and all Americans," VA Secretary Denis McDonough said in a statement. "VA's researchers have conducted life-saving studies throughout the pandemic."
-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.
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