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Politico:
In late May, the CDC issued a health advisory about the recurrence of symptoms and noted that there have been no cases of severe disease as part of this rebound. The agency also said that there is currently no evidence that a second round of Paxlovid is necessary for these symptoms to resolve.
However, that hasn’t stopped some physicians from prescribing patients a second round of Paxlovid out of an abundance of caution. Anthony Fauci, the White House chief medical adviser, received two courses of the antiviral after experiencing a similar rebound of symptoms.
Wall Street Journal:
In a statement Saturday, Pfizer Inc., which makes Paxlovid, said that it continues to monitor real-world data and remains confident in the treatment’s effectiveness at preventing severe outcomes from Covid-19. Rebounds are uncommon and not “uniquely associated” with any particular treatment, the company said this week during its quarterly earnings call.
Pfizer says real-world studies and internal research have found rebound incidents to be consistent with its clinical trial. In that late-stage clinical trial, about 2% of the 1,120 subjects who took the drug had rebounds around 10 to 14 days after starting treatment, compared with 1.5% of the 1,126 volunteers who received the placebo during the same period, according to Pfizer.
Researchers studying the issue have seen rebound experience in similarly low figures. A study of 483 high-risk people found that four individuals experienced a return of mild symptoms, according to researchers from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The four people had certain comorbidities and had been vaccinated more than 90 days before becoming infected with the virus.
Another study found 5.4% of patients who took Paxlovid tested positive again within 30 days, and 5.9% had a recurrence of symptoms, according to the study from Case Western Reserve University and the National Institutes of Health.
Less than 1% of roughly 5,300 people treated with Paxlovid from December to May were admitted to hospitals or visited emergency departments five to 15 days after treatment, according to a study by Kaiser Permanente and the CDC….
Pfizer said this week it is in talks with the Food and Drug Administration to begin a study of patients receiving additional courses of the drug. Infectious-disease experts aren’t sure what causes the rebounds, but they have said it is possible that patients may be taking Paxlovid too early or not long enough.
Independent researchers studying the rebound issue and Pfizer have said that people in rebound are experiencing mild to moderate symptoms and aren’t being hospitalized. “I want to emphasize that even the anecdotal reports, they are all indicating that it is mild,” Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said on the company’s earnings call this week.
Washington Post:
Catherine Bennett, a professor of epidemiology at Deakin University in Australia, said in an email that recent data have suggested that rebound cases happen in about 10 percent of Paxlovid recipients, “so not rare, but uncommon.”
Washington Post:
Paxlovid, which is taken in a five-day course, suppresses the amount of virus in a person’s system while the treatment is being taken. Some experts theorize that the rebound infections occur because the five-day course is too short and should be lengthened by several days, to ensure that the virus has been eradicated.
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Breaking Sunday morning:
Washington Post:
Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s office released an itinerary for the House Speaker’s planned trip to Asia that listed at least four stops — but made no mention of Taiwan….
State media on Sunday also quoted Shen Jinke, a spokesman for China’s air force, as saying that Beijing will “resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity” when it comes to Taiwan. Shen reportedly said China’s air force has a variety of fighter jets capable of circling “the precious island of our motherland,” per Reuters.
New York Times:
A posting on the website of the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore said that Ms. Pelosi would be attending a cocktail reception hosted by the group on Monday afternoon.
Here is the incredibly interesting official press release.
So, is Speaker Pelosi going to Taiwan on this trip?
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The Deep Dark Red view of the world in one tweet:
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One additional item from my reporting with/on the Gang of 500’s views of 2024 that was featured in Saturday’s edition: The entire Gang would make Commerce Department topper Gina Raimondo “President for Life” if they could, but 96% of them believe today’s Democratic Party would not bestow its nomination on her.
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* Politico:
The Democratic National Committee told its members Saturday that an August vote for the new slate of early presidential-nominating states will be delayed until after the November midterms.
