The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released two reports in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) about the association between COVID-19 rebound and receiving antiviral treatment. These studies found that COVID-19 rebound can happen whether a patient receives antiviral treatment or not.
Rebound appears to reflect COIVD-19 viral fluctuation that is part of the natural disease process early in the course of illness. A person’s risk of experiencing rebound could be related to a range of factors, such as immunosuppression, delayed viral clearance, and overall immune response. Rebound was not associated with the use of the antiviral Paxlovid.
The CDC concludes that the benefits of COVID-19 antiviral treatment for reducing the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death outweighs any potential risk of viral rebound.
The two studies can be found here: