COVID-19

FDA OKs Invivyd's COVID preventive Pemgarda for emergency use The pre-exposure treatment is indicated for adolescents and adults with moderate-to-severe immunocompromising conditions. CIDRAP

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 22 granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for Invivyd's monoclonal antibody to prevent COVID-19 in immunocompromised patients, which fills a gap following the withdrawal of Evusheld in January 2023.

New data show Paxlovid outperforms molnupiravir against severe COVID-19 outcomes A large study yesterday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases shows that, if prescribed within 5 days of confirmed infection, Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir) is more effective in protecting against all-cause mortality and severe COVID-19 in adults than is molnupiravir, another antiviral drug. CIDRAP

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After four years with Covid-19, the US is settling into a new approach to respiratory virus season | CNN With the arrival of spring, the United States is easing out of respiratory virus season, a familiar pattern that has been challenged by Covid-19 for the past four years. Deidre McPhillips CNN

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Experts say that focused planning and forecasting efforts helped avoid some of the worst-case scenarios. But there was still a significant number of severe outcomes, and there are still key areas of improvement – especially around vaccination.

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COVID-induced lung infection linked to heart damage Severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) related to COVID-19 infections can damage the heart even when the virus itself doesn’t affect heart tissue. The findings come from a study today in Circulation. CIDRAP

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The study suggests that ARDS triggers widespread inflammation in the body, which leads to secondary cardiovascular complications.