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Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill appears to provide little or no benefit for younger adults, while still reducing the risk of hospitalization and death for high-risk seniors, according to a large study published Wednesday. The results from a 109,000-patient Israeli study are likely to renew questions about the U.S. government’s use of Paxlovid. ... The researchers found that Paxlovid reduced hospitalizations among people 65 and older by roughly 75% when given shortly after infection. That’s consistent with earlier results used to authorize the drug in the U.S. and other nations. But people between the ages of 40 and 65 saw no measurable benefit, according to the analysis of medical records. (Perrone, 8/24)

Taking the antiviral treatment Paxlovid can reduce a person’s chances of getting seriously ill from COVID-19. But while seniors tend to get impressive protection from the pills, younger people derive little benefit, finds new research In a study published Aug. 24 in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers in Israel provide valuable real-world data on how effective the pills are against Omicron. The researchers studied data from 109,000 patients at a large health care organization—nearly all of whom had been vaccinated, had been previously infected, or both—and tracked their hospitalization and death rates by age. Nearly 4,000 people in the study, which was conducted from January to March 2022, took Paxlovid. (Park, 8/24)

A study by Clalit Health Services on the success of treating at-risk COVID-19 patients with the anti-viral drug Paxlovid has shown an impressive 81% reduction in the risk of death from complications of the virus and a 73% decrease in hospitalizations among those aged 65 and older, compared to a control group who did not want to take the medication. (Siegel-Itzkovich, 8/25)

First lady Jill Biden on Wednesday tested positive for a rebound case of COVID-19, but is experiencing "no reemergence of symptoms," according to a statement from her office. (Saric, 8/24)

Pfizer will team with Zhejiang Huahai for five years. The Chinese firm will produce and sell Paxlovid exclusively in China. The company drew the ire of the FDA in 2018 when the agency investigated the company for the presence of a suspected carcinogen in a blood pressure medicine it produced. In a scathing warning letter, the FDA blasted Huahai for altering its manufacturing process in 2011 to include a solvent suspected of producing the impurity. (Dunleavy, 8/23)