New Mayo study finds few COVID patients get rebound symptoms after taking Paxlovid

(ABC 6 News) – A new Mayo Clinic study found fewer COVID-19 patients get rebound symptoms after they take the drug Paxlovid.

Researchers studied 483 high-risk patients who were treated for COVID with a five-day oral regimen of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, also known as Paxlovid when mixed together.

Rebound symptoms are completely different than long-term COVID symptoms. Rebound symptoms are when you have mild COVID symptoms in the week following your recovery.

Overall, the study found treatment benefited everyone. All recovered including the ones who developed rebound symptoms.

"Everybody who is eligible to take Paxlovid should take the opportunity to take the medication because it does prevent the risk of hospitalization and death," said Dr. Raymund Razonable, Vice-Chair of Infectious Disease at Mayo Clinic. "And for those who do develop this reoccurrence of symptoms, they should be assured that most of the symptoms are mild and that they will resolve in just a few days."

Most of the patients had been vaccinated and many received their booster shots. The median age of people in this study was 63 years old. Only two people were admitted to the hospital, that was for reasons other than COVID.