Pfizer announced that a large trial concluded its COVID-19 pill, Paxlovid, did not prove effective in preventing people living with someone infected by the virus from developing the disease. The trial involved three thousand adults who were close contacts of a symptomatic COVID-19 patient in the same household, with tests confirming the infection. These participants were given either Paxlovid for five or ten days or a placebo. Those who took the medication for five days were 32% less likely to become infected compared to the placebo group. This increased to 37% after taking Paxlovid for ten days. However, these results were not statistically significant and might have been due to chance.
Pfizer stated that the safety data from the trial was consistent with previous studies, which showed the pill was 90% effective in preventing hospitalization for high-risk individuals when taken for five days shortly after symptom onset. Albert Bourla, Pfizer's CEO, said in a statement, "While we are disappointed by the outcome of this particular study, these results do not impact the strong efficacy and safety data observed in our previous trial for treating COVID-19 patients... We are pleased to see the increasing use of Paxlovid among these populations worldwide."
