Severe Progression Rate 2.04 Times Lower and Mortality Rate 1.61 Times Lower with Paxlovid Administration (Update)

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[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Among nursing hospital residents, who are a high-risk group for COVID-19, those who tested positive and took the oral antiviral treatment 'Paxlovid' showed a 2.04 times lower rate of severe illness and a 1.61 times lower mortality rate compared to those who tested positive but did not take the treatment.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Central Disease Control Headquarters announced on the 28th the results of an analysis on the effectiveness of Paxlovid in preventing severe illness among nursing hospital patients.

Paxlovid is currently prescribed to COVID-19 confirmed patients aged 60 and above who are at high risk of severe disease.

To evaluate the effectiveness of Paxlovid, the KDCA investigated 1,612 confirmed cases out of 2,241 nursing hospital residents and staff members up to the 2nd of this month, dividing them into treatment and non-treatment groups. Among the confirmed cases, 44.7% received the antiviral treatment, and among them, 623 patients (86.8%) were treated with Paxlovid.

The KDCA reported that the non-Paxlovid group showed a 2.04 times higher rate of severe illness (95% confidence interval: 1.02-4.11) and a 1.61 times higher mortality rate (95% confidence interval: 0.76-3.44). These results were adjusted for various factors including gender, age, and vaccination status of the subjects.

The KDCA explained, "This study is meaningful in that it confirmed the preventive effect by adjusting for major mortality-related factors such as age and vaccination status among nursing hospital residents with similar characteristics."

However, the definition of COVID-19 related death included all deaths occurring 28 days after confirmation, without distinguishing deaths from other causes. Also, although the subjects were nursing hospital residents, adjustments were not made for underlying diseases or condition at the time of confirmation. These limitations will be addressed through additional analyses expanding the scope of future research.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.