From access to testing the drug as a potential long COVID-19 treatment, here are four recent updates on Pfizer's antiviral medication, Paxlovid:
1. From April through July, Black COVID-19 patients were 36 percent less likely than their white counterparts to receive Pfizer's drug, the CDC said Oct. 28. On the same metric, Hispanic patients were 30 percent less likely than non-Hispanic patients.
2. Researchers at Durham, N.C.-based Duke University will test Paxlovid against a placebo in a phase 3 study to see if the treatment is effective at treating long COVID-19 symptoms, according to clinicaltrials.gov. The trial will start early next year and is estimated to be completed by early 2024.
3. Amid concerns the five-day regimen results in rebound cases — which is when someone experiences recurrent symptoms or tests positive days after testing negative for COVID-19 — a National Institutes of Health-sponsored study found that rebound risk is similar between people who do and don't take the drug.
4. Walgreens is partnering with DoorDash and Uber to deliver Paxlovid packets for free to people who have a prescription but cannot access it. The news arrived the same day President Joe Biden received his omicron-targeted booster.