Pfizer’s antiviral COVID pill Paxlovid has no measurable benefits for adults age 40 to 65, according to a large study of the drug published Wednesday. The treatment—which has become the go-to COVID medication in the U.S. owing to the fact that it can be administered easily at home—was found to be effective for older people in the 109,000-patient Israeli study. Paxlovid was found to reduce hospitalizations for people age 65 and older by 75 percent when given shortly after infection—a finding consistent with earlier trial results that, in part, led to the Biden administration ordering more than $10 billion of the drug. But those age 40 to 65 in the study saw little or no benefit from Paxlovid, an analysis of their medical records revealed. Biden himself and his wife, Jill, were both given Paxlovid when they developed COVID.
