Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir May Not Decrease Risk For Hospitalization Or Death In Older Adults Vaccinated Against COVID-19 As Much As Previously Thought, Study Suggests

Healio (2/21, Feller) reported, “Paxlovid [nirmatrelvir/ritonavir] may not decrease the risk for hospitalization or death in older adults vaccinated against COVID-19 as much as previously thought, according to research.” One investigator said, “Our study effectively rules out the notion that Paxlovid causes large reductions in hospitalization in vaccinated older adults. ... While we cannot rule out a small reduction in COVID-19 hospitalization, our results indicate that, at best, Paxlovid’s potential effect on COVID-19 hospitalization among vaccinated older adults is four times weaker than the effect originally reported in Pfizer’s 2022 clinical trial.” The findings were published in JAMA.