Pfizer's COVID Pill Has No Benefit In Adults 40 To 65: Study

A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that Pfizer's antiviral COVID pill Paxlovid has no benefit for people between the ages of 40 and 65, though it does reduce the risk of severe illness and hospitalization in older adults.

The Israeli researchers studied data from 109,000 COVID patients, including nearly 4,000 who took Paxlovid. They calculated the hospitalization and death rates of the patients by age and said that "no evidence of benefit was found in younger adults" who took the Paxlovid. However, adults over the age of 65 who took the drug had a 73% lower chance of being hospitalized and a 79% lower chance of dying from the viral infection.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Paxlovid last year for people over the age of 12 who have a high risk of severe complications from COVID, including people who are immunocompromised, have cancer, or are obese.

While the new study raises questions about the effectiveness of the drug, health experts say it is still an important tool to combat COVID-19.

"Paxlovid will remain important for people at the highest risk of severe COVID-19, such as seniors and those with compromised immune systems," Dr. David Boulware, a University of Minnesota researcher and physician, who was not involved in the study, told USA Today. "But for the vast majority of Americans who are now eligible, this really doesn't have a lot of benefit."