Pfizer will list its COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid at a price of $1,390 per five-day course when it soon hits the commercial market, the drugmaker confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: Paxlovid's new listed price, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, will be more than twice the $529 paid by the federal government, which until now has maintained the entire U.S. supply of the key antiviral medication.
I'm just going off the information that my health care provider gave me. She said they only use it on high risk individuals because it's not as effective as claimed.
It does work, amazingly. I had Covid a few times and took Paxlovid the last time. It works better than any drug I've taken. After taking the first dose, there were no more Covid symptoms within 4-6 hours.
The problem with Paxlovid (besides the cost) is that it gives you a new set of side effects: weird joint and muscle pain, a metallic taste in the mouth, etc. They're better than Covid though. And it won't kill you.
Just because it worked for you doesn't mean that the effectiveness in their trials represents real world numbers. I'm not pulling this out of my ass, I was told this by a medical professional.
There are many types of "medical professionals". Only a vast minority actually read and interpret trial data.
I'm going to trust my direct experience with the drug (I know it works) and real world studies like below.
Conclusions: This study suggests that in the era of Omicron and in real-life settings, Paxlovid is highly effective in reducing the risk of severe COVID-19 or mortality.
Excuse me, that study only examined 140,219 patients. You'll need WAY more, at least one million, to argue against the anecdotal opinion of a random, unspecified 'medical professional'.
The best part about having a background in statistics is watching people who don't understand statistics try to explain why the math that doesn't support their point actually does, somehow.
dude's not saying it doesn't work. he's saying it doesn't work as well as advertised. that perhaps doesn't mean it's only 50% effective for 100% people. perhaps it's 100% effective for 20% of people. Think dude.
Yeah I'm gonna go ahead and say the guy throwing out accusations like false advertising is the one that needs to think a little more.
Paxlovid has only ever been advertised as something that "can reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by around 89%".
The idea that, somehow, all of the people associated with coming to the "89%" number are somehow magically also associated with a subset of the population that responds well to it is fucking nonsense. It's the exact same garbage logic that conspiracy theorists use.
What about all the medical professionals that disagree with your medical professional?
This is why people like you should keep quiet on matters they know nothing about. If you want to understand something, you have to research it yourself.