That's a good question, but I don't expect a clear answer. My guess is YES, the vaccinations helped.
I had mild symptoms on the first go round, runny nose, cough, low-to-mid fever 99-101°. (I treated the fever with ibuprofen and Mucinex DM at night for the cough.) If I had no Covid-19 vaccinations, I would have expected much worse symptoms – hospitalization, intubation, or worse. These mild symptoms are the same for my 2nd go round.
My thinking is that the 5-day course of Paxlovid was not long enough to eliminate my virus. It was enough to make me feel much better after 2-3 days of the 5-day course. I tested Negative on days 6 & 8, but was Positive again on day 10. Today is day 11 and I've had symptoms since yesterday. It may be enough for people with normal immune systems, but not enough for those who take immune suppressing drugs.
I went to the MinuteClinic at my local CVS drug store this morning. The nurse practitioner said she could not give me another course of Paxlovid without waiting 3 weeks between courses.
I called my primary care doctor, and I will speak with her by video call later today. She is up to speed on my auto-immune condition and it's treatments. If necessary, she'll contact my rheumatologist.
Yikes, I certainly hope you can get another course of Paxlovid.
The rules with regards to what meds doctors can prescribe even if it is contrary to the guidelines has always been something of a mystery to me.
Pfizer said a second course is okay for patients that rebound, but the federal guidelines have apparently not been updated.
>>>Pfizer executives said people whose COVID-19 symptoms rebound after taking the antiviral Paxlovid should repeat the treatment, though federal guidelines only recommend one five-day treatment course,
Bloomberg reported May 3. . . .
"Paxlovid does what it has to do: It reduces the viral load. Then your body is supposed to do the job," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told
Bloomberg. In the rare case that virus levels rebound, "then you give a second course, like you do with antibiotics, and that's it," he said.
Paxlovid is available under an emergency use authorization by the FDA, and the drug's prescribing directions say it's "not authorized for use for longer than [five] consecutive days." The FDA did not immediately respond to
Bloomberg's request for comment on how the drug should be prescribed for patients with rebounding symptoms.<<<
Pfizer executives said people whose COVID-19 symptoms rebound after taking the antiviral Paxlovid should repeat the treatment, though federal guidelines only recommend one five-day treatment course, Bloomberg reported May 3.
www.beckershospitalreview.com