Effectiveness of Paxlovid - a review

Paxlovid is an oral treatment for mild to moderate COVID-19 cases with a high risk for severe course of the disease. For this review, we have performed a comprehensive literature review. We present a summary of currently available data on Paxlovid’s ability to reduce the risk of progressing to a severe disease state. Our findings can be concluded as follows: data from the time when the Delta-variant was dominant shows that Paxlovid reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 87.8% for unvaccinated, non-hospitalized high-risk individuals. Data from the time when the Omicron variant was dominant found decreased risk reductions, varying between 41% and 46%, combining various vaccination statuses. However, one study, which differentiated by age, found that the administration of Paxlovid reduced the risk of hospitalization by 67% for individuals aged 65 and older, but only by 27% for individuals aged 40-64. From the available data, one can conclude that Paxlovid cannot substitute vaccination, but its low manufacturing cost as well as its easy administration make it a valuable tool in fighting COVID-19, especially for countries with a low vaccination rate.