What a terrific article. It is write ups like these that need to be in the newspapers, particularly in Canada where I live. People have no perspective on what the risks are.
I pity any doctor who faces so many treatment options for the seemingly never ending march of Covid variations, Dr. Hollander.
My wife is a CRNA with about 35 years of experience. During the worst of the pandemic she was always on the wrong side of the sterile barrier. Double N95 masks plus plastic welder style shields were the order of the day for anesthesia providers, and yes, she did having a pregnant woman fib about not having eaten. The result was vomit hitting my wife's mouth, nose and eyes.
I should mention that my wife is 15 years younger than my soon approaching 79 years, and thus much more healthy than me.
Being married to a medical professional at Advent Health in Ocala, FL made it possible for me to get my Moderna shots just after Christmas of 2020 and the end of January of 2021. In December of 2021 I received a Moderna booster.
After attending a national volleyball tournament in Orlando in June that included our granddaughter's team, I caught Covid for the first time.
Once again, Nurse Mary came to the rescue, opening a Covid test kit as soon as we got home.
She forced me to drink what seemed like a gallon of water and half a gallon of OJ.
She then called our family doctor to get access to the drug regime used at her hospital for patients who are within the first 24-36 hours of exposure.
Because of my age and my half century smoking habit she got a prescription for an 10 day course of antibiotics to keep my lungs functioning, 20 milligram of prednisone, and several other meds I cannot remember.
My fever and other symptoms cleared out within three days.
I'm sharing this information to illustrate how how many variables go into treating the Covid variations. I suspect I would not have fared so well had I not been married to a spouse with broad experience dealing with the pandemic.
When President Biden came down with Covid, my wife's initial reaction about Paxlovid was similar to yours.
I appreciate your articles dealing with Covid and other complex medical issues for those of us who barely crept up to a B- when we took Biology 101 and Chemistry 101 so long ago.
After two years of almost daily cringing at the arrogance, dishonesty, and incompetence of Fauci, Levine, Walensky and Birx, the notion that Biden is getting great medical care is laughable. These people have set the cause of trusted physicians back a generation.
Agree. There is clearly pressure to prescribe this medication. I can’t help but wonder whether some of this relates to profits for the manufacturer.
I have 3000 patients on my panel of whom about 80-85% are vaccinated. Out of all of these I’ve had a single Covid hospitalization since the beginning of last year, and that was in a patient who received her vaccines while on immunosuppressive medication. Anecdotal, I realize, but when you’re more or less batting a thousand, how much better can you do?
I read the original “Covid rebound” results. They said that the five per cent rebound with Paxlovid was identical in the control group. Paxlovid does not cause the rebound; it simply does not prevent it. I’ve never read a single article that refers to this. It seems that a Paxlovid rebound is an attractive story. Am I wrong?
The last speech I saw Biden give a couple days ago, he had his sunglasses on even though he was in a shaded area facing the building, he was confused on whether or not he was the vice prez, and the left side of his mouth was drooping down while the right side remained straight. He was propped up in some earlier speeches and there were noticeable bug eyes and lack of blinking incidents along with slurring. Is there something more going on here? We may never know. At least not until the tell-all books start coming out long after the next election.
While suggesting benefit from paxlovid treatment, the overall severe covid rate was 0.5% in high risk patients, the vast majority of whom were not treated.
If Biden has such great care why no test as to whether he has dementia as he clearly does? Democrats insisted Trump get tested every five minutes. How about just once for Biden?
But since they know the answer there is no chance of Biden being tested. So we will continue to be led by a man with progressive dementia while who knows who is pulling his strings. It is almost cruel to watch except that it is hard to have sympathy for a man who sexually assaulted his own daughter - according to her diary.
Such irony. Throughout the entire covid debacle, the Democrats used the virus to wage unrestricted economic and political warfare on the nation; while at the same time actively obstructing and sabotaging every effort to develop and distribute a vaccine. Yet, when that vaccine became available despite their efforts to keep it from being developed, they were the first in line to receive the vaccine; and in far too many cases, they pushed others out the way to be inoculated.
This is so bad that as a physician I am ashamed it is written by one. Where has Buzz been for the last 2.5 years? Over a million people have died prematurely and using a proven effective treatment (Paxlovid) is overreacting? Paxlovid has a very good risk/benefit ratio. The main side effect is a bad taste in the mouth but "Buzz" thinks giving it to people at risk for life threatening is questionable? Buzz claims to be an objective reviewer of medical data but he picks and chooses data. I don't see a MPH after his name. He should stick to areas he is trained in.
The point I think the good Dr misses is that having covid is miserable; Paxlovid makes you feel MUCH better within ~12 hours of your first dose, and you are essentially symptom free within 36 hours. My experience was 100% positive, and I would happily pay $530 out of pocket if I had to. I take no medications, so no problems with stopping other medicines.
What a terrific article. It is write ups like these that need to be in the newspapers, particularly in Canada where I live. People have no perspective on what the risks are.
I pity any doctor who faces so many treatment options for the seemingly never ending march of Covid variations, Dr. Hollander.
My wife is a CRNA with about 35 years of experience. During the worst of the pandemic she was always on the wrong side of the sterile barrier. Double N95 masks plus plastic welder style shields were the order of the day for anesthesia providers, and yes, she did having a pregnant woman fib about not having eaten. The result was vomit hitting my wife's mouth, nose and eyes.
I should mention that my wife is 15 years younger than my soon approaching 79 years, and thus much more healthy than me.
Being married to a medical professional at Advent Health in Ocala, FL made it possible for me to get my Moderna shots just after Christmas of 2020 and the end of January of 2021. In December of 2021 I received a Moderna booster.
After attending a national volleyball tournament in Orlando in June that included our granddaughter's team, I caught Covid for the first time.
Once again, Nurse Mary came to the rescue, opening a Covid test kit as soon as we got home.
She forced me to drink what seemed like a gallon of water and half a gallon of OJ.
She then called our family doctor to get access to the drug regime used at her hospital for patients who are within the first 24-36 hours of exposure.
Because of my age and my half century smoking habit she got a prescription for an 10 day course of antibiotics to keep my lungs functioning, 20 milligram of prednisone, and several other meds I cannot remember.
My fever and other symptoms cleared out within three days.
I'm sharing this information to illustrate how how many variables go into treating the Covid variations. I suspect I would not have fared so well had I not been married to a spouse with broad experience dealing with the pandemic.
When President Biden came down with Covid, my wife's initial reaction about Paxlovid was similar to yours.
I appreciate your articles dealing with Covid and other complex medical issues for those of us who barely crept up to a B- when we took Biology 101 and Chemistry 101 so long ago.
Thank you for "Buzzing" us periodically.
After two years of almost daily cringing at the arrogance, dishonesty, and incompetence of Fauci, Levine, Walensky and Birx, the notion that Biden is getting great medical care is laughable. These people have set the cause of trusted physicians back a generation.
Agree. There is clearly pressure to prescribe this medication. I can’t help but wonder whether some of this relates to profits for the manufacturer.
I have 3000 patients on my panel of whom about 80-85% are vaccinated. Out of all of these I’ve had a single Covid hospitalization since the beginning of last year, and that was in a patient who received her vaccines while on immunosuppressive medication. Anecdotal, I realize, but when you’re more or less batting a thousand, how much better can you do?
I read the original “Covid rebound” results. They said that the five per cent rebound with Paxlovid was identical in the control group. Paxlovid does not cause the rebound; it simply does not prevent it. I’ve never read a single article that refers to this. It seems that a Paxlovid rebound is an attractive story. Am I wrong?
Maybe Hunter should share some of his meds - 10 for the Big Guy.
The last speech I saw Biden give a couple days ago, he had his sunglasses on even though he was in a shaded area facing the building, he was confused on whether or not he was the vice prez, and the left side of his mouth was drooping down while the right side remained straight. He was propped up in some earlier speeches and there were noticeable bug eyes and lack of blinking incidents along with slurring. Is there something more going on here? We may never know. At least not until the tell-all books start coming out long after the next election.
Effectiveness of Paxlovid in Reducing Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Mortality in High-Risk Patients
Ronza Najjar-Debbiny, Naomi Gronich, Gabriel Weber, Johad Khoury, Maisam Amar, Nili Stein, Lee Hilary Goldstein, Walid Saliba Author Notes
Clinical Infectious Diseases, ciac443, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciac443
Published: 02 June 2022
While suggesting benefit from paxlovid treatment, the overall severe covid rate was 0.5% in high risk patients, the vast majority of whom were not treated.
If Biden has such great care why no test as to whether he has dementia as he clearly does? Democrats insisted Trump get tested every five minutes. How about just once for Biden?
But since they know the answer there is no chance of Biden being tested. So we will continue to be led by a man with progressive dementia while who knows who is pulling his strings. It is almost cruel to watch except that it is hard to have sympathy for a man who sexually assaulted his own daughter - according to her diary.
Monulpiravir, a Merck antiviral from Merck, does not interact with Eliquis. Why wasn't he put on that?
Such irony. Throughout the entire covid debacle, the Democrats used the virus to wage unrestricted economic and political warfare on the nation; while at the same time actively obstructing and sabotaging every effort to develop and distribute a vaccine. Yet, when that vaccine became available despite their efforts to keep it from being developed, they were the first in line to receive the vaccine; and in far too many cases, they pushed others out the way to be inoculated.
Best answer concerning Paxlovid;
Ivermectin. Better in every way but one; pharma profit. Which is more important, their profit or your health?
Best appraisal of the reality of Covid I have ever read.
This is so bad that as a physician I am ashamed it is written by one. Where has Buzz been for the last 2.5 years? Over a million people have died prematurely and using a proven effective treatment (Paxlovid) is overreacting? Paxlovid has a very good risk/benefit ratio. The main side effect is a bad taste in the mouth but "Buzz" thinks giving it to people at risk for life threatening is questionable? Buzz claims to be an objective reviewer of medical data but he picks and chooses data. I don't see a MPH after his name. He should stick to areas he is trained in.
The point I think the good Dr misses is that having covid is miserable; Paxlovid makes you feel MUCH better within ~12 hours of your first dose, and you are essentially symptom free within 36 hours. My experience was 100% positive, and I would happily pay $530 out of pocket if I had to. I take no medications, so no problems with stopping other medicines.